Invisible Control
by LittleHandGernade
Summary: ::Complete:: Addie Gilbert loathes the supernatural world her sister Elena brings into their life and wants nothing to do with it. She doesn't want anything to do with anyone, really. Compelled, Addie is told to take control of her life and now she is. But how do you make someone realize you're right in front of them when you're invisible?
1. Chapter One

Water cascaded in sheets along the dark, windy road. The rain flowed over the tar and made rivulets of mud along the side of the road, following the woods that thickened a few feet away. Addie stomped through the mud, getting a small satisfaction from the squelching suctioning sounds from the ground trying to take her by her boot and the rush of air released when she had to force her foot up to make the next step through the muddy terrain. She had been walking in the rain for so long that she was soaked; Addie couldn't tell if it was tears on her cheek or if she had finally stopped crying.

Life could be such hell sometimes and everyone expected her to handle it perfectly. They expected her to be like Elena and keep it all together and write her feelings down in some book and that would somehow keep her from breaking. Everyone gave Jeremy a free pass because he had already started smoking weed before their parents died; it had just gotten worse after. She was the one battling with depression for the past four years and somehow she was supposed to be just fine?

Aunt Jenna watched her every night take her medication, as if she couldn't be trusted to take it on her own. Her parents and Jenna and Holy Elena and big brother Jeremy would all be pissed at her if she started cutting so she hadn't. She didn't even have true control over her body, she was so busy pleasing everyone else and being babysat. The exercise was as close to control as she could get. That's why Addie had to run; that's why she was out here in the hot, humid, summer rain.

Jenna and Elena had been talking about her mother again and about cheerleading. Aunt Jenna wanted to know if Elena was going to do it this school year. It was always about Elena with her mother. Elena this or Elena that. All Addie ever did was fight with her mother and have her mother tell her to be more like Elena. To be more girly. To quit all her sports and dress more feminine. Addie couldn't handle hearing about her mother or about how perfect Elena was in her mother's eyes. Instead, she did what she always did when things got bad; she ran.

It had only been dusk when she had started running but it was full on night, now. The clouds had rumbled in when she had turned onto the road leading out of town, almost three miles from home. Two more miles out and on the edge of town, the pain of running five miles had begun to catch up with her. For another mile she had been stomping through the mud in anger, gaining that small sense of satisfaction of not getting stuck in what was acting like quicksand. She was thankful that the military grade combat boots she wore were waterproof; she could handle the soaked t-shirt and jeans but cold, wet feet would have been miserable.

Up ahead she saw a figure lying in the road. It was much too big to be a rabbit, squirrel, or any small game but the deer in these woods could get pretty big. This lump looked too flat to be an animal; getting closer it looked more and more human. Realizing it was human, Addie ran up to the figure.

But it wasn't on the ground anymore when she got there. She looked around and suddenly a man with a devilishly handsome smile was behind her.

"What the hell?! You can get killed lying in the middle of the road, you idiot. If you're on a holy crusade for suicide, hey, I'm all for suicide if you hate life that much. I get being that selfish. Yet how can you be so reckless? Some driver could have swerved or slammed on the brakes to try and avoid hitting you. In that process, you could have gotten them killed! That's just - that's - ugh." shrieked Addie, her voice scratchy and strained from all her crying.

The man stood there, his smile growing and his blue eyes taking on a dangerous shine. "I think the word you're looking for is still selfish. You might not be able to fathom killing someone but others are just that selfish," he smirked, walking back towards the edge of the woods to prop himself up against a tree.

Addie felt a sensation pulling her towards the raven haired man. She never really paid much attention to guys but she noticed the way his black hair fell in his eyes, plastered to his forehead by the rain, and his angular features. The eyes, a very unusual shade of blue, almost like steel but they looked like they held flecks of green from this angle, were most enticing. She couldn't deny that he was attractive.

"You'd do that?" asked Addie, cocking her head to the side. She could feel the anger rising up in her. Was it that he was so selfish? Or was it that he didn't care if a car accident happen? He could have been the thing lying in the middle of the road that made her dad swerve off the bridge. He could have been the reason that she and Jeremy were so screwed up and Elena was the miracle child, yet again, for making it out alive.

"Mhm," he smirked, propping one foot back against the tree. "I'd even kill you. Right here. Right now."

Addie looked at him for a minute. He definitely looked like he could kill her. If he killed her she wouldn't have to deal with being pissed off when anything remotely tied back to her parents came up. She wouldn't have to deal with having to live up to the standards set by Elena. She wouldn't have to deal with all the pain that came with remembering the past.

Addie just shook her head, feeling the hot tears versus the slightly cooler rain fall down her face. She couldn't believe she was contemplating this. Saying this.

"Do it."

"If you're sure," he said smugly. He pushed himself of the tree trunk with grace and stepped up in front of her. The man raised a hand to her throat, his fingers splayed around the front of her throat. Slowly, he walked behind her and as he did so, he crushed down on her windpipe.

As he stood flush behind her, Addie began to feel herself struggle for breath. Instinctively her hand went up to her throat, trying to pry away the fingers. They only clamped down harder. Panicking, the training from the years of martial arts her mother hated kicked in. To keep him distracted, she still clawed at her fingers while her other hand curled into a fist and she shoved her elbow back, hard into his stomach, trying to go up under his ribcage or at least crack one. He doubled back in shock, his grip on her throat slackening. Addie had a chance to grab a hold of the man's wrist. She pulled the arm straight down, tugging it backwards under her shoulder until she heard something snap. It sounded like his shoulder. She brought her other arm up and used her hand to smash the man's elbow in the wrong way.

Turning around to face him, she saw the shock on his face but she didn't let it phase her; this man had been about to kill her. She shot out a foot; he was too close for a kick to the stomach so she improvised, using the steeltoe of her combat boot to take him down with a solid kick right behind his knee and a forceful shove, sending him flat on his back.

Feeling tears of anger and relief and all the pent up emotions she had been keeping since the death overtook her, manifesting as violence and loud sobs. She dropped down over the man, not wanting to look into his enticing eyes, and began slamming her fist into his face and chest and arms. At first she stuck to his torso, not wanting to damage his beautiful face but Addie wasn't gaining enough satisfaction from hitting hard, solid muscle. She wanted him to hurt. She wanted him to pay. She needed someone to feel the way she felt. The feelings of bones smashing under her fist helped; the blood gushing from his mouth and nose giving her a sense of freedom.

That's when Addie realized something was wrong. Something was off about this fight; it wasn't a fight. The man wasn't doing anything to ward her off; he was simply laying there. Bones in face that should have been broken seemed to keep breaking and breaking again under her first. His face shouldn't even be structured after so many hits but it was still as handsome as ever, even covered in blood.

The young man took advantage of the girl's slowing in attacks and use the moment to reverse the situation. He now had her pinned, holding her wrist down tightly on either side of her head. She looked so lost and broken. She looked out of control. Now, she looked like a literal mess, too; the tussle had gotten mud splattered all over her clothes and hair. The constant fall of tears and rain mostly kept her face free of mud.

He was just going to kill her but actually requesting that he do it and then having the nerve to actually punch him piqued fight against him when he started to his curiosity. It was natural for people to fight back but she was good at it. Damon wasn't sure why he let her pound on him, perhaps it had been the fire he could sense in her.

"What's your name?" he demanded. He hadn't used compulsion on her so far and she seemed so reckless that he didn't think he would have to.

Addie closed her eyes and weakly attempted to pull her wrist out from under his hands. She knew it was useless but she'd feel stupid if she didn't at least try. "Addison Gilbert but I go by Addie."

Gilbert. If he recalled correctly, and he was certain he did, that was the last name of the girl that looked exactly like Katherine Pierce? Interesting development. This must be her little sister. No wonder the kid was spiraling; she just lost her parents a month ago. He didn't like to recall how he had felt when his mother had passed but he wasn't himself for a while.

"Well, Addie, this a small town. I get what's up. I suggest you stop letting the past control you and take control of your own life," he emphasized the last part, making sure he held her gaze. He saw the small eye-roll she gave him. Compulsion it was. "Take control of your life, Addie."

With that he flashed off into the night.

* * *

Addie hit her alarm for the seventh time, knowing she could no longer put off getting up. Rolling over to get out of bed, she realized too late that she hadn't needed to, landing on the floor.

"Ow," she grumbled, rubbing the center of her back as she walked towards her dresser.

Every year her mother would take her back to school shopping for clothes and she would never end up buying anything because Addie and her mother always had to fight about what was appropriate. Her mom wanted tighter or shorter while Addie wanted it plain and simple. This year she hadn't had to go with her mother and had actually bought new clothes and for the first time since the second grade had a new outfit for the first day of school. The idea made her a little sad, as it reminded her of her mother's death, but she couldn't forever live in misery.

Pulling out a pair of khakis, Addie considered that her taste in clothes had changed slightly over the summer. Taking a mock white, button-up blouse that had the layered look of being a navy sweater vest over it off the hanger, she concluded that she did like having a more professional look some days but other days were strictly jeans and band t-shirt days. Her options in clothing were expanding but it still didn't include the preppy, girly style her sister had.

Addie swiftly tugged on the clothes before finding a pair of navy Converse for her feet. She almost exclusively wore converse and had over a dozen pairs. She wasn't addicted to shoes, just Converse All Stars. One of the other three types of shoes she owned were track shoes, which she grabbed and tossed in her backpack. She double checked the backpack for gym clothes and notebooks and several different colored gel pens to keep her notes interesting.

Slinging the bag over one shoulder she popped into the bathroom and quickly washed her face and scrubbed her teeth. Addie brushed so hard that her gums bled a little; Elena had left her make-up shit all over the skin again. Rinsing her mouth out, she remember what Aunt Jenna had said the last time Addie and Elena got into a fight about the cosmetics being left out. With a smirk, she grabbed the wastebin and swept all the face painting goop into it. Now there was nothing to argue about.

"'Dear diary, today I am excellent and everyone at school will tell me how excellent and perfect I am,'" Addie mocked, nailing her impersonation of her big sister. She couldn't help but to open up Elena's side of the adjoining bathroom and bothering her. When Addie saw her writing at the window seat, she knew exactly what she was doing.

Elena looked up at her little sister with a glare. "Oooh, so close but so not right."

"Totally right," returned Addie. "I'm heading straight down to the bus stop. I don't really feel like doing the whole 'Yay! First day of high school' thing with Jenna this morning. Will you tell her for me?"

Elena set her diary down and stood up, walking towards her sister as she talked, "Only if you give me a serious, two armed hug."

Addie made mumbles of protest and bossy big sisters as she walked into Elena's open arms. Once there, she was immediately crushed into her sister who started happily singing into her ear.

"Yay! I can't believe we're going to be in school together! It's going to be so much fun! We'll go to the same dances and festivals and football games and I'll come watch your track meets! Lunch will be just like middle school: Bonnie, Caroline, you and me! My baby sister is growing up!"

With much force, Addie was able to extract herself from her sister. She tried to scowl but a smile kept tugging at her lips. "You are only marginally better than Aunt Jenna. Make sure and give Jer-bear the same treatment; I know it will make his day."

With that, Addie turned around to head out the front door. Until Elena called after her.

"I will if you ride with me to school. Bonnie's picking me up soon."

Addie groaned. She loved Bonnie. Bonnie was actually one of her favorite people but that meant more time with her sister and more time in this house, with the possibility of being caught by Aunt Jenna. Though, the bus was loud, overcrowded, and just gross.

"Only if I get to wait upstairs!" she declared, already sitting down on Elena's bed, tossing her backpack to the floor.

"Deal," Elena grinned before bounding out the room and down the stairs.

Addie eyed the door for a few minutes before grabbing the diary her sister had left perched on the window seat. It had been a few days since she had last read it and she was actually kind of interested to see what she had put for today.

"Dear diary, today will be different. It has to be. I will smile, and it will be believable. My smile will say 'I'm fine, thank you.' 'Yes, I feel much better.' I will no longer be the sad little girl who lost her parents. I will start fresh, be someone new. It's the only way I'll make it through."

Tossing the journal back where it had been. She didn't need to know any more about how Elena could simply decide to be someone new, someone happy and just do it with no problem. Addie would admit that she was handling the loss of her parents better than her siblings and was now actually going to therapy and reading self-help books along with taking her medication, but she couldn't just wake up as someone new. Someone who wasn't so screwed up by being depressed for absolutely no reason. This only made her feel guilty since she had a good life but the guild only made the depression worse.

* * *

"So Grams is telling me I'm psychic. Our ancestors were from Salem, witches and all that, I know, crazy, but she's going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already!" carried on Bonnie Bennett, her eyes focused on the road. This was just one of the reasons that she loved this girl, her passion and energy. "But then I started thinking, I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands."

Addie shook her head, this was ridiculous, "Ok, Salem witches and everything, that's cool. Like if your family escaped from persecution or something like that, how historically epic would that be? But, predictions mean nothing. I predicted September 11th, not the exact buildings, but just ask Jeremy or Elena, if she was paying any attention to us right now. I freaking predicted our parents' death too, but I'm sure she doesn't want you to ask about that."

Elena, at the mention of her parents, snapped back into the conversation from her own thoughts. "You know what," she snarled, turning around from the front passenger seat to shake a warning finger at Addie, "how about you don't bring up any of that ever again or I'll hit you so hard that you'll get amnesia and entirely forget about it."

The younger sister smirked with mirth, "Please, leave the threats to those that can actually carry them out. We both know you'd never stand a chance against me." She didn't want to talk about it either because if she did, it would only remind her of how much she really blamed Elena for going to that party. For picking that party over her, when she tried to convince her she needed her home to comfort her from her first heartbreak. For going and then making Mom and Dad come get her.

"So you're like psychic now, Bonnie?" Elena said apologetically, turning to her friend. "Right. Okay, then predict something. About me."

When they got to the school, Addie asked where Jeremy would most likely be. The bus had picked him up long before Bonnie had gotten them. Elena pointed towards what looked like a drop of area for 18-wheeler trucks. As she headed closer Addie caught the smell of pot and cigarettes. What kind of school didn't just simply break this mess up?

Addie spotted Jeremy talking to Vickie Donovan, the girl he'd been drinking, drugging, and sleeping with all summer, along with a muscular guy with short brown hair. She hung back for a moment, not particularly caring for Vickie but as soon as she saw the girl and the mystery guy kiss she headed towards Jeremy.

"What was that?" Addie demanded of her brother, Vickie and the boy passing her.

Jeremy turned to his little sister. The last thing he wanted was a lecture from her about Vickie. "It was nothing, Ad."

"Really?" remarked Addie, raising an eyebrow. "Because it looked like some tool macking on the girl you've been with all summer."

"So, it was a little what it looks like. What do you want?" Now came the part where she would tell him he could do better.

Addie never liked Vickie but she had been Jeremy's way of coping. She definitely didn't like her kissing some other boy right in front of her brother when they had been shagging all summer. She crossed her arms and stared down her brother.

"You know, that's pretty sleazy of that guy to kiss her right in front of you like that. Or does he not know what you guys have been up to?" concern for her brother and disgust at the other girl laced Addie's voice.

Jeremy slung his backpack over his right shoulder, just as his sister had hers, and made to get up. Addie held back the small smile; she really didn't realize just exactly how many things she picked up and mirrored from her older brother. He was only older than her by eleven months, making him one of the first to turn 15 in the 9th grade and her just making the cut off to be in the same year as him. Growing up they had always been close and Addie practically idealized her brother. She had wanted to be just like him and had picked up so many of his mannerisms and habits over the years. When their parents died, Jeremy took up a method of coping that, for the first time, she didn't want to follow. The results were her and Jeremy drifting apart but that didn't mean she didn't still love him.

"I'm not talking about this with you, Addison," Jeremy said sternly, using his big brother voice and heading towards an entrance into the school. Addie had to walk quickly to keep up with his intentionally long strides.

"I get it. Of course, I wouldn't be a good sister if I didn't point out that she shouldn't be ashamed about you. She's lucky to be or have been - or whatever the hell you guys are - with you. Not to mention, what if she was just using you so she didn't have to pay for drugs? Maybe she's ashamed of that. I'd be ashamed of using a guy for drugs," Addie rambled on absentmindedly, following Jeremy through the halls. It wasn't until she almost bumped into his chest that she realized that he had stopped walking.

"Don't say that," he gritted out, a hurt look in his dark brown eyes.

It was only then that Addie realized what she was really saying, "Jer, I'm so -"

"Just go," Jeremy said pointing down the hall. "Go to class, Addie."

Normally she would have persisted but she could see that what she had said really upset Jeremy. Addie didn't want to step on any toes so she backed down and headed towards English.

* * *

"I had a run in with your brother today," Elena huffed, strolling along towards the cemetery. "You know he was stoned first thing this morning? Like before the first bell? Did you know that? Can you believe him? I mean, yeah, I get the little "troubled" phase he had this summer but I thought he'd straighten up for school."

A rush of frustration with Jeremy washed over Addie but it was nothing compared to the pang of guilt she felt. There had still been ten minutes before the first bell rang when she had left him, upset by her remarks about Vickie. At that time he had been sober. In those few minutes he must have gone back outside to smoke. She knew he smoked when he was most upset and she could help but wonder if her words had affected him so badly.

Addie had taken the three mile walk to the cemetery in stride, while Elena had been left a little winded. Addie may have been walking at a faster pace than usual, not particularly pleased with her sister's company. The walk for her was nothing; in fact, it was a break compared to running up and down the bleachers at the football stadium. Ms. Allen, the track coach did not ease her runners back in from summer vacation but tossed them into the lion's den.

"Have you ever notice he's my brother when he does something you don't approve of yet he's our brother the rest of the time?" Addie pointed out. Lightly, jokingly she added, "How come I never get to pawn him off on you when he screws up? How is it fair that you can brag about our brother but I can't brag about my totally messed up one?"

Elena's breath evened and her voice lowered as they turned onto the gravel drive of the of the cemetery entrance, taking the familiar path towards her parents' grave. "You have more control and influence over him than I do. Makes sense that you should be able to keep a better reign on him."

There were so many things wrong with that idea which made Addie want to explode on her sister. It was over simple things like these ideas that she and her sister would never truly get along and she'd never really like her. She would always love her though. Family was family.

"Control? I can't just take control of Jeremy's life," Addie snapped at the ludicrous idea. She could barely manage her own life. "And in case you didn't notice, Jeremy Gilbert is a singular, individual person with his own, independent mind. Besides, it's not like he's a dog on a leash that I can lead wherever I want nor would I want him to be that way. I love Jeremy just the way he is, even if he doesn't make the wisest choices sometimes. Now, stop talking and start writing, Scaredy Cat."

Elena gave Addie a dirty look before sitting up against her parents' headstone, pulling her diary from her purse, and beginning to write. Addie sat at what would be the feet of her parents' grave. She couldn't understand how Elena could sit on their parents' faces; it was just weird, even if they were six feet underground. Worse yet was that she didn't know why she continually indulged Elena in these little field trips to the graveyard. The cemetery creeped Elena so much she couldn't face it alone and yet she found comfort in being near her parents' burial site.

Addie supposed that was why she let Elena convince her to accompany her. Addie had found a way, she wasn't sure how, but she did find a way to regain as much power, if not more, over her life since her parents death. Elena was still falling off Wickery Bridge but being near her dead parents was like a parachute; it made her feel better. Addie remembered that falling feeling and if she couldn't pull her sister out of the air, she would at least slow her down. She loved her sister even if she annoyed the hell out of her.

Addie had taken out a book assigned for school, _Wuthering Heights_, and was reading when she noticed a crow land next to Elena's head on their parents' headstone. She thought it was strange that a bird would willingly land so closely to humans. It seemed to be staring back and forth between Addie and her sister. Elena hadn't noticed and continued to write.

"Elena, don't freak," Addie reassured her sister calmly before using a strong, louder, commanding voice. "Scatter, creepy crow!"

Elena had looked and screamed when she saw the bird right next to her head but relief filled both the sisters as it took off.

"Stupid scrapper birds," mumbled Addie, turning back to her book.

Elena, out of the corner of her eye, saw the crow return and land in between them about two feet away. Behind it a sudden layer of fog was quickly approaching her and Addie. Freaky graveyards freaked her out; she would come back another day.

"Let's go, Addison. Now," Elena quivered, putting her diary back in her bag and standing up. As the fog rolled closer her fear increased and she ran to escape, cutting through the woods and taking an unmarked path.

Startled, Addie looked around to see why her sister was so paranoid. It was always something serious when Elena used her full name. There was the crow and the sudden fog; her sister's fear of the weird and of birds was strong but so strong as to make her run like that? As the fog rose up from the ground, becoming denser, Addie thought she saw a man hiding behind one of the statuesque headstone. Briskly walking, it took a moment for Addie to catch up with her sister. She had almost caught up to her when she saw her fall almost flat on her face, her hands catching her. Addie could hear her hiss as she came up next to Elena and saw the tear in her jeans and the slight scrape on her knee.

Elena quickly took the hand Addie held out and pulled herself up before turning around on the path that would lead them to the exit from the cemetery. Addie took a step back as right in front of them was a young man, maybe her sister's age, in a dark t-shirt and a dark jacket. The figure she had seen had been in dark clothing, perhaps?

"Were you following us?" she demanded harshly, tugging on the sleeve of Elena's jacket, trying to pull her closer to her but she didn't budge.

The young man with bright hazel green eyes spared a glance at Addie before returning his focus to Elena, "No, I-a, uh, I-a just - I saw your sister fall."

Addie crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Uh-huh, and you just happened to be hangout in a cemetery?"

The guy gave her a hard look, "I'm visiting. I have family here."

Elena had been too startled by the reappearance of the sexy mystery guy from school to say anything until now. It wasn't unusual for Addie to be rude but to someone she didn't even know. Manners were a foreign concept to her little sister. She shot Addie a warning glare that said 'be nice or get lost'. Addie rolled her eyes; Elena didn't intimidate her.

"Wow. Forgive my tactless sister. I apologize. It's the fog. It's making her foggy. And back there, there was this - this bird, and it was all Hitchcock-y for a -"

"It was a crow and my mind is not foggy. You found it Hitchcock-y while I sensed a disturbance in the force," Addie cut Elena off, closing her deep blue eyes and acting like a meditating Jedi.

Elena and the mysterious guy both looked at her with puzzled faces.

Addie shook her head sadly and sighed deeply, "You don't get the Star Wars reference? Well, I just simply don't like either one of you."

Addie walked past her sister, who she heard making apologies and excuses for her to mystery man, and grit her teeth in annoyance. She didn't want her doing that; this was who she was. But it was hardly like she was going to go back and have a fight with Elena right now over it.

* * *

Somehow she had found her way to the Mystic Grill; it was better than the awkward tension at home. Addie slid into a booth, thankfully unnoticed by her brother so she could observe him. Jeremy tried to catch Vickie's attention once but she blew him off to wait on her brother Matt and the guy that had kissed her that morning. Now that Addie had a better look at him, she recognized the boy as the mayor's son, Tyler Lockwood. Jeremy caught up with Vickie again and they started to talk. Her brother could do so much better than chasing after some druggie. Addie's view was interrupted as Caroline and Bonnie sat on either side of her at the circular booth.

"Ad," she hated when people she didn't care for, like Caroline, called her that, "have you seen the extremely hot new guy?"

Addie stared at her soda as if she had to think hard to remember him, "Well, it was my first day at the school so everyone except those who followed me from middle school were new and nobody I saw was as hot as the sun, so I'm guessing not. Then again, you think every new guy is hot."

"This one actually really is," smiled Bonnie, bumping Addie's shoulder with her own and raising her eyebrows suggestively.

Caroline nodded like a blonde bobble head, "His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with his uncle up at the old Salvatore boarding house. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid. Military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini, and his favorite color is blue."

"You got all that in one day," asked Bonnie, a bit shocked.

"Obsessive, much?" muttered Addie, taking a sip of her Sprite.

"Oh, please, I got all that between third and fourth period. We're planning a June wedding."

"Nope, just plain mental," Addie whispered to Bonnie, who held back a giggle.

Caroline hadn't seem to notice Addie's comments at all. "If you guys will excuse me, I'm going to the restroom."

As soon as her seat was evacuated, it was taken up again by Matt Donavan, Elena's ex-boyfriend. Addie groaned inwardly; if Caroline was an overly eager puppy, Matt was always the lost and wounded puppy you wanted to take care of. A smirk fought at her lips as she thought that she was as much a dog person as she was a people person.

"Hey, Addie, how are you doing?" he asked cautiously, just like everyone else had been since her parents' death.

"Walking on sunshine. And before you ask about Elena, think about it, Matt. Our parents died. How do you think? She's putting on a good face, but it's only been four months," Addie said, trying to sound patient.

Matt nodded, understandingly, though Addie could see that he didn't. He looked between her and Bonnie, "Has she said anything about me?"

"Oh, no. So not getting in the middle. You pick up the phone and call her," Bonnie quickly cut in, knowing that whatever Addie would've said would have been much harsher.

Surprisingly, Addie was a bit sympathetic to him. "Give it more time, Matt."

"More time, huh?" he asked, walking over towards the entrance, were Addie was surprised to see Elena and mystery cemetery man.

In the blink of an eye, Addie was somehow squished between Bonnie and Caroline on her right and Elena and the unknown dude on her left. She tuned in to the conversation long enough to gather that this was Stefan Salvatore, the extremely hot guy, before counting the grooves in the wooden table. She honestly couldn't care less about the 21 questions game they were playing with the novelty toy.

* * *

**A/N: Working on formatting edits at the moment! Please comment and review! It puts a skip in my step and a smile on my face! Thank you for reading =)**


	2. Chapter Two

Addie strolled through the labyrinth of school hallways, her shoulders thrown back in confidence. If only she felt that way but this was how she got people to leave her alone. Nobody gave her pity glances or asked her how she was; those were reserved for her siblings. Addie was taking control of her life, even if it meant faking a bit of confidence.

She turned a corner towards algebra and turned right back around. It was too late though.

"Addie!" Elena called, her and her new puppy bounding up to her.

She let her head fall back against one of the old blue lockers, relishing in the slight pain of the thump before they could reach her.

"Can't you be a normal big sister and pretend we don't know each other at school?" Addie groaned, turning towards the pair, leaning against the locker with a shoulder.

"Nope. It's too much fun embarrassing you. Stefan brought it!" she said eagerly. Addie knew Elena was just trying to gain her approval of Stefan but she just didn't like him. She didn't trust him.

Stefan spoke up with a smile, holding out an old book towards Addie, "Wuthering Heights by Ellis Bell."

Show-off, Addie thought while Elena looked at him admiringly.

"You know, I can't believe she didn't use her real name."

"All the Bronte sisters used pseudonyms. It was the time. Female writers weren't very accepted," he shrugged. And a know-it-all, too.

Addie snatched the book from him. She knew _Wuthering Heights _by heart. Flipping to a random page she read a paragraph; it was accurate. Inspecting the binding and cover, she knew enough about books to know that this dated back to around the time it was originally published.

"All right. You win. It was technically written by whoever Bell and 'Emily Bronte' was a pseudonym. It doesn't really matter what name she went by; the book is the same either way," Addie huffed, shoving the book back into Stefan's hands and continuing on towards math.

Seeing Caroline and Bonnie heading down the same hallway, she sped up to link her arm with Bonnie's, receiving a brilliant smile. Hearing Caroline she realized what conversation she had walked into.

"I'm confused. Are you psychic or clairvoyant?"

Bonnie smiled patiently at Caroline and explained, "Technically, Grams says I'm witch. My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something. Grams tried to explain it but she was looped on the liquor so I kinda tuned out."

"Crazy family? Yes. Witches? I don't think so. Fleeing accused ancestors? Yes," Addie interrupted Bonnie, annoyed with this insane psychic and witch stuff Bonnie had been spouting. There was no scientific evidence; therefore there was no explanation. Without any explanation, there could be no truth.

Caroline ignored her, "Yeah, well, feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night."

Bonnie laughed slightly, "I didn't see him, you did. Why didn't you just talk to him?"

"I don't -"

Addie cut off the blonde, "Caroline Forbes does not pounce on a hot guy? Someone alert the media!"

With that, Addie slipped into her algebra class.

* * *

Addie felt unsettled as the rest of the day went by. She hadn't talked to Jeremy or even seen him. She had stared at the door for all of biology waiting for him to walk in but he never showed. It hurt her to know her brother was struggling so much but she didn't know what she could do. All she wanted, really, was to binge on video games and greasy pizza with him all night like they would do before the accident.

Not exactly being the friendliest person, Addie didn't exactly have a clique or even a small group of friends that she hung out with. She had followed Jeremy and his friends for the last two years of middle school and they were more than happy to let her tag along as one of the boys. After the accident, Jeremy had picked up a new group of… troubled friends that she didn't particularly approve of. She supposed she could have hung out with his old friends, they were welcoming enough, but she never really feel comfortable hanging out with them without him.

Ever since they were kids Miranda Gilbert had pushed for her daughters to get along; for her eldest to take Addie under her wing. There were times when Addie was forced to join Elena and her friends, an event both girls hated. Addie got along with Elena's friend Bonnie and actually became close friends with her but the other girls were mostly annoying airheads, in her opinion. The sisters tried to get along and truly loved each other but there were just too many little things about one another that made them not able to stand the other. Elena, now that her mother was gone, still felt like it was her job to turn Addie into more of a girl like her rather than a tomboy. Addie just wanted to help her siblings move on from their parents' death and that's how she supposed she ended up outside the Mystic Grill with Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena.

"You know, each comet has its own atmosphere so in theory, it's just like any other planet in that it could support life. Actually, there is even more to give credit to the theory; a comet is ice. Where we find water on Earth, we find life usually," Addie prattled on while folding flyers, extremely excited about that night's comet.

"Well," Bonnie said pointedly to Addie, starting to enjoy Addie's obsession with hard science versus the supernatural, "I was talking to Grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls there were lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity."

"Yeah, well, Einstein's 'proven' quote on astrology was proved to be a hoax," countered Addie, using her fingers to make quotation symbols. "He never supported it."

"Spoken like a true critical, analytical, narrow-minded Virgo!" jabbed Caroline, a fierce believer in the Chinese Zodiac and its beliefs and ideas.

"Don't get me started on that, Caroline," Addie said dangerously. She would wipe the floor clean with Caroline's tears as she disproved the scientific logic of astrology, yet again.

Caroline ignored the dark brunette, like most times and turned towards Bonnie, "Then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens on Addie's comet, right?" Her conversation about the sexy Salvatore with Elena was much more interesting, "So, then what happened?"

"So then nothing," Elena said simply.

Caroline stared at her in disbelief, "You and Stefan talked all night? There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?"

"It was all chatter, for hourrrrrrs," Addie drawled. "They made me miss Top Gun so they could talk about absolutely nothing."

"Not even a handshake? I mean, Elena, we are your friends! Addie's your sister! You're supposed to share the smut!"

Addie shook her head, "No smut sharing for me please, thanks. Don't really want to hear about my sister's sex life. Or in her case, lack thereof. They literally just talked."

"Ok, what's is with the blockage?" Caroline demanded of Elena. "Just jump his bones already! Ok, it's easy. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, sex!"

"Profound," Addie and Elena spoke at the same time in faked awe. They looked at each other, unsure if they were disgusted with each other or found it a cool, bonding sister moment. Addie gave Elena her famous eye roll. With that look, Elena decided to take a page out her sister's new motto on life and take control of her own. She got up and heard Bonnie question where she was going.

"To Stefan's, of course," Addie replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Elena nodded, gathering her nerves, "Caroline's right. It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying what I was going to do." She paused as she noticed Addie was right on her heels. "Where are you going?"

"Letting my sister go to some random guy's house alone to possibly get roofied or date raped? Totally an unsisterly thing to do," shrugged Addie, an innocent smile on her face. Really, she just wanted to be a pain in the ass. They made her miss Top Gun so now she was going to be a cockblocker.

* * *

"People seriously live in places like this? I mean besides the Lockwoods? Oh my god! Is he as much of a dick as that punk Tyler that's been pushing Jeremy around?" Addie asked, looking up at the house in amazement.

Elena rang the old fashioned doorbell then knocked on the door, which opened a little at her touch. "Tyler's been messing with Jeremy?" she asked distractedly, pushing the door open further and sticking her head in. Addie couldn't believe it when her sister stepped into the house.

"Elena! I know people keep their door unlocked around here but that doesn't make it an open invitation!" Addie hissed at her sister, grabbing at the back of her jacket.

"Stefan? Stefan?" Elena called out, wandering further into the old boarding house with each call of the boys name.

Addie followed her sister reluctantly. Didn't this count as breaking and entering? Addie was fairly sure it did and was fairly sure they were going to get caught when she heard the creaking of the door. Her and Elena both jumped at the sound. Elena gasped, snapping around as a crow flew through the door and past them. Addie was just as surprised but she tried to pay more attention to the bird. It had an odd midnight blue marking on its chest just like the one in the cemetery. She heard Elena gasp again and turned around.

Inches from Elena's face was the man that she had met laying in the middle of the road. That night felt like years ago. Guilt overwhelmed her into silence as she stared at him, remembering how she had lost control and had basically smashed his face in. Yet, only a few months later, here he was looking just as handsome as he had that night. No… she remembered the bones repeatedly breaking under fist but his face was only bloody, not swollen or black and blue, when he had finally had enough of her using him as a punching bag. But she had been so upset; her mind had played tricks on her.

It was him. It was that night. It had been cathartic. She had let all of her feelings out on him. He was the one who had given her a wakeup call, albeit unknowingly. In beating him up, she realized she had power and strength left in her to fight and he had to. He was going to kill her but then he let her pummel him and gave her a new motto for her life: take control.

That bastard was about to kill her and now here her sister was standing right before him. She shot out her arm, getting a tight grip around Elena's, and pulled her back towards her that she stumbled over her feet a little. Addie slightly sidestepped partially in front of Elena, exposing herself to the man but making it harder for him to access her sister, making it clear she would protect her.

The man smiled and cocked his head, as if enquiring about their sudden appearance.

"I...I'm sorry for barging in. The door was," Elena glanced over her shoulder to see a closed door, "open," she finished lamely.

His light blue eyes locked with Addie's darker ones for a moment but she could get no sense of what he was trying to communicate.

"Addison, it's a pleasure to see you again," he smiled slightly. "You must be her sister, Elena. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."

Addie paused for a moment. She never told him she had a sister. Stefan must have told him Elena's last name and he had put two and two together. At least now she had a name for the man.

A cold chill ran down Addie's spine. "It's good to see you, too, Damon. Elena was just looking for Stefan but obviously he isn't here." At this point, Addie hand grabbed Elena's and was trying to pull her back towards the door. "In which, case we'll just be leaving. We don't want to bother-"

Elena didn't know who she was more annoyed with; her sister for knowing Stefan's brother and not telling her or Stefan.

"Stefan didn't tell me he had a brother."

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag," he replied offhandedly. "Kind of like your sister," he shrugged, raising his eyebrows as he caught a look from Addie, who quickly looked back down at her red Converse.

"Please, come," Damon welcomed, ushering Elena by her shoulder further into the house.

Addie let out an internal groan when Elena let go of her hand and did as he said. This was not good. Damon stood waiting for her, his hand out in a welcoming motion. She took a deep breath and walked towards him, letting him guide her further in by the push of his hand on her shoulder. This touch was gentle but she could still remember his hand wrapped around her throat, cutting off her air supply.

"I'm sure Stefan will be along any second," he continued, leading the sisters into a grand room with high ceilings and a large fireplace. If it wasn't occupied by a man who tried to kill her and one who almost reeked of deception, it would have been one of the dream estates she wished she had out of the old novels she loved.

"Wow. This is your living room?" Elena asked in amazement, looking around at all the old fashioned and expensive furnishing.

"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction."

Interrupting him, Addie scoffed as she unconsciously walk in further, "What, did you like buy out a whole collection?"

"Well, we left behind a few pieces," Damon winked at her before continuing. "It's a little kitschy for my taste."

"If you think this is kitschy, then you just don't have appreciation for fine art or the Romantic period," Addie tossed over her shoulder looking at a beautiful painting of a Roman goddess. "Just for that, I like your brother better, and that's not saying much at all."

"Addie!" Elena scolded, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment. "I apologize for how rude and weird my sister is. I'm fairly certain she suffered brain damage of some kind at some point," muttered Elena.

"I find myself romantic enough that I don't have to appreciate the period," Damon grinned smugly, ignoring Elena. "Besides, Addison, if you didn't like my brother better than me, well, that would be concerning," Damon said behind her, just out of earshot from Elena.

She turned around to say something smart but he was already walking back over to her sister who was admiring a bookshelf. Addie followed, not wanting to leave her too close to Damon.

"I see why my brother is so smitten. It's about time. For a while there, I never thought he'd never get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him."

Addie had stirred up enough trouble for her siblings to sense what Damon was up to and she didn't like it. He could take his murdering hands and games somewhere else.

"The last one?" Elena asked, slightly puzzled.

"Yeah. Katherine. His girlfriend," he said as if it were obvious. "Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet."

"Nope," forced Elena, scrunching her shoulders up to her neck in an awkward shrug.

"Oops."

"Well, I'm sure it will come up now, Damon," Addie snapped. She was the only one who got to make Elena feel like that.

Damon nodded as if in agreement but his words were not, "Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end."

"You say it like every relationship is doomed to end," Elena replied, a tone of pity in her voice.

"I'm a fatalist," he shrugged.

At the same time, "They do. It's reality, Elena. Let's go. You'll see Stefan tomorrow."

Addie, though six or seven inches shorter than Elena was quite a lot stronger and knew exactly where to grab her to lead her out of the creepy Salvatore house. She could feel Damon's eyes on them as they retreated.

* * *

"He's on the rebound," Elena worried to Aunt Jenna about Stefan, not wanting to just be a step in until he was actually ready for someone.

"Plus, I think he has some raging family issues," Addie put in, leaning against the counter, watching Elena set the table.

Elena's head snapped towards her little sister, "Why would you say such a thing?"

First he tried to kill me and now Mr. Perfect is obviously too mysterious and hiding something. "Well, neither one has ever mentioned the other," she came up with on the spot, trying to cover up her true thoughts.

"Yeah, back to that, how do you know Damon?" Elena asked skeptically. "He's a little old for you, don't you think?"

Addie literally gagged on the water she was drinking, sputtering and coughing. "Gross! And he's most definitely a little too old for me. Don't even think I look at him like that."

"Ooooooh," sang Jenna at Addie, waving a wooden spoon at her, "someone sounds too defensive."

"He's old, like in his 20's old. You want me crushing on a guy that old, Jenna?" Addie rolled her deep ocean blue eyes; it felt like she was doing that more and more these days. Either her tolerance was lowering or people were stupider or more annoying.

Jenna's mouth dropped open indignantly, "Being in your twenties does not make you old. But that does make him too old for you! No one old enough to drive a car for you!"

Addie shrugged, "Agreed. Not like I'm interested in anyone or vice versa or like I would bother with a relationship. No dating for me. You gotta worry about Elena and her boy toy."

"He's not a boy toy!" Elena snapped at her sister. "You never answered where you met him."

"I met him while I was out on a run this summer." Technically it was true. They didn't need to know that he had tried to kill her.

Elena looked frustrated at her sister, "So, some random guy just stops you on your run and you happen to chat him up?" Addie was supposed to be the smart one with street smarts.

"I didn't chat him up and he didn't exactly stop me," Addie grumbled back defensively. Her voice grew stronger as she continued on, "He was hurt. His head was bleeding. He was out in the rain in a muddy tracksuit. I'm sorry if I'm my father's daughter and I care about others. He had a little bit of amnesia. He wasn't quite sure where he was. Damon just remembered he was out running, most likely he slipped and fell really hard. He had a concussion and some scrapes and bruises. I waited with him until the ambulance came."

Jenna looked at her with a softening expression, "Is that where you were when you came home drenched so late at night that time? When I grounded you for a week?" Addie nodded. "Why didn't you just tell me that instead of storming off into your room?"

"Because it didn't really matter and I really didn't care. Ground to my room where I have a plethora of books that can take me to magical lands where I didn't have to deal with anything I was facing this summer? That was a nightmare," Addie shuddered overly dramatic, plopping down at her seat at the dinner table. She just wanted the Damon subject to drop. So she turned the table back to the usual center of the universe, her sister. "Basically, Stefan is on the rebound and has raging family issues. A soap opera waiting to unfold. Just walk away, Elena."

Jenna, of course not knowing or sensing what Addie did about the Salvatore brothers, countered her point, "Well, at least it's an ex-girlfriend. Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues. Or amphetamine issues."

"Amphetamine issues might be fun as long as they weren't too extreme," Addie mused aloud. "Speed sounds like it would provide for entertaining stories. Or good grades at the very least."

"No! No drugs! I already have one troubled teen," Jenna snapped at her as if she was being a bad dog. Jenna perked at the sound of the door opening and closing, before she ran around to the front of the house, catching the sight of her nephew and calling out for him. "Jeremy? Jeremy, where were you?"

"Out."

Addie could hear the annoyance and absence of personality in her brother's voice. He was baked and she couldn't face him like that. She shut out whatever Jenna and Jeremy were saying, not wanting to remember her brother this way. She idolized him but not like this.

* * *

Addie was flaming furious with her brother. She had seen Jeremy hand over a bottle of pills to Vickie Donavan. The only thing that had stopped her from going over there and ripping a new one into Jeremy was the shock that it was Elena's old pills from the car accident that he was giving the skank. She wasn't sure if this made her furious at him for having the gall to steal from his sister or if she found a slight sense of comfort in that he wasn't passing out pills from some kind of dealer. Maybe now that all of Elena's pills were gone it would just be down to the alcohol and pot.

With more force than necessary, the trifold was popped open, and piece by piece Addie put together the extremely powerful telescope. It had been a struggle to lug the heavy thing to the middle of town square, though Elena had been nice enough to give her a ride to the square. She could feel that she was twisting every bolt and knob into place at least one turn too far and it would be a pain to take apart but focusing on exerting her physical energy that way kept her from going back to the Grill and smacking Jeremy in the back of his head with the hope to knock some sense into him.

"Ad," a voice called. Reflexively, her hands tightened around the eyepiece of the telescope.

"What do you want, Jeremy? I'm kind of busy," Addie snapped at her brother, still pissed at the way he had been acting since their parents' death. She knew this wasn't good for him but it wasn't like he would listen to anyone.

"Have you seen Vickie," he asked, his tone genuinely worried.

Addie gritted her teeth, "Nope."

"Well, nobody can find her! She's missing," hysteria creeped into his voice.

At least he cared about something, it seemed; she just really wished it wasn't Vickie. He must have taken some of the pills before giving them to Vickie; they tended to make him a little dramatic.

"Yes. She's missing. She was abducted by a flying saucer in the middle of town square and nobody saw a thing," Addie mocked, realizing she had no sympathy for the drug induced state that he put himself in. "She probably took too many of those pills you stole from Elena and is passed out somewhere. Just so you know, if she overdoses or dies choking on her own vomit, part of that is on you Jeremy. You gave her the pills. Get your shit together and start fucking thinking before you act."

"You know what," Jeremy said, staring at his sister as if this was the first time he really saw her, "fuck you, Addison."

Addie looked at her brother's retreating back as wander off into the small group of people who had already gathered for the comet, presumably still asking about Vickie. Jeremy had never spoken to her like that, of course, she had never spoken to him like that. She knew that whatever happened to Vickie was all her own fault. Jeremy shouldn't have done what he did but that didn't give her the right to speak to him the way she had. He deserved some kind of apology. She'd give it to him if she ever came across him sober.

She started scanning the horizon, knowing it would be from there first that the comet would appear. Addie stopped when she thought she saw movement on top of a building. Adjusting the finderscope and eyepiece along with tilting the scope, Addie was able to gain a better view of the building.

Right on the ledge of a rooftop was Damon Salvatore and Vickie Donavan, with the girl looking as frighten as Addie must have when she felt Damon's hand clenching around her throat. Vickie almost stumbled backwards or was that Damon threatening to push her off the roof? It was hard to tell with his hand wrapped around her bicep and that deceivingly charming smile plastered to his face. She guessed he was tormenting her as he placed a hand over her mouth.

Addie's heart skipped a beat in shock as Stefan suddenly came into view, as if from nowhere. There was no door for rooftop access and she hadn't seen him climb up a fire escape. How did any of them get up there, really?

Stefan said something that made Damon look over his shoulder and start to tug Vickie off the building even more. Was she really going to witness this girl's death? She didn't like her but nobody deserved to be treated the way she was being tortured. Damon, thankfully, seemed to change his mind as Stefan took a stance as if approaching a wounded, angry bear. She could make out his lips forming the word 'no' a couple of times.

Damon tossed Vickie further onto the roof, Stefan catching her before she could hit the ground. With what Addie could almost feel as a sense of arrogance from such a distance, Damon stepped off the ledge with confidence. What were these two playing at? She knew Damon was fucked up the second he tried to kill her and she never had trusted Stefan. Yet, Damon hadn't killed her; he allowed her to beat him up. It wasn't that he didn't have the potential or strength to kill her though. Maybe he just didn't have the nerve to actually kill someone? Maybe that was why he had pushed Vickie back on the roof. She didn't know if Stefan was there to join in on the fun his brother was having, but it had looked like he was trying to stop Damon. Though, Addie highly doubted Damon did anything he didn't want to do.

Now Damon was talking to a crying Vickie, who sat on the rooftop, using her hands to push herself up. His hands were on his knees and he was slightly hunched over, as if to connect with her more. Two things came to Addie's mind: first, she finally understood what people meant when they said someone had a nice ass and secondly, she really wished she was better at reading lips. Damon helped Vickie back to her feet. Addie cursed that their back was to her but when she was getting up she saw sheer terror on Vickie's face. She felt a small sense of satisfaction when Damon turned so Addie could see his face fully. He grabbed both sides of Vickie's head and had a concentrated look on his face as he said something to her.

Stefan said something to Damon and the elder brother seemed to give a small shrug. Addie gave out a gasp when she saw the bandage covering Vickie's still fresh stitches in his hand. He seemed to sling her away from himself and into Stefan's arms, throwing the white crumpled cloth at them. What the hell kind of freak show was she watching? Damon seemed to be giving a grand speech, his face broken into a maniacal grin whenever Addie could catch a glimpse of it.

She pressed her eye harder into the telescope, blocking out the pain on her eyeball. Maybe if she got closer to the lens she could see more clearly. Addie was certain she saw dark veins radiate out all under Stefan's eyes and a few up near his temple.

"What the holy fucking hell was that shit?" Addie mumbled, as the veins quickly disappeared.

Not two seconds later, Stefan tossed Vickie to the floor like a rag doll. He was hunched over as Damon had been earlier before though this time it seemed like Stefan was fighting for breath. His brother walked over to him. After a moment, Stefan stood back up and she could see that he was angry; that whatever was going on, he and Damon were fighting.

Damon looked back and forth between Vickie and Stefan a few times before walking over to the girl. He crouched down next to her and whispered something in his ear. He stood up and held his hands out and gestured towards victory; a sign of truce, she had used it many times with Jeremy when fighting over the last piece of pizza or what to watch.

A few words were exchanged before Vickie got up, looking fine, high, but fine and went staggering through the rooftop entrance. She watched Damon and Stefan talk for a few moments before Damon wandered to the side of the building. Addie took a step back in shock as she watched Damon jump off the ledge, into the alley between two buildings. Did he have some kind of death wish?

Addie sucked in a deep breath when she saw Damon walk out between the buildings. He looked around and quickly she tried to look away but it was too late. Damon strolled over towards her and within a matter of minutes he stood right in front of her in the middle f the town square.

"Addison, two times in as many days. The comet must be bringing me luck," he grinned a half smile, shoving his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Mmm. My friend is convinced it's a harbinger of doom and destruction. I'm not superstitious, really," Addie's eyes darted to the rooftop Damon had just occupied and tortured on, "but I'm beginning to think that she might be right. You, two times in as many days."

Damon had caught the blue eyes flash away and had seen her watching him come from the alleyway. He'd bet the telescope was positioned so you could clearly see the rooftop.

"Mmm," Damon mimicked, pretending to muse as well, "I'd say being superstitious is like trusting the weather man."

Addie's lips quirked as she thought of a song lyric she had written, "I find putting faith in the weather will leave you soaked in rain."

"Not if you carry an umbrella," Damon shrugged.

Addie was pretty certain they were both talking about him, until this point. "What kind of umbrella protects someone like me from someone like you, Damon? You have the power and obviously the mentality to kill me; we both know that."

"Yet, you're here standing," he pointed out.

Addie's eyes narrowed, "And I'm wise enough to get that the only reason I am is because you permit me to."

"True," Damon nodded.

"So, again I ask, how do I find protection from someone like you?" Addie challenged, beginning to get annoyed.

Damon grinned, "First, I recommend not crossing me. Second, you're a smart kid, Addison, but I've watched you. You'll have to think outside what you think you know to be protected from me. I'd suggest you do it fast. I have a bit of a temper and seeing as you smashed my face in, over and over again, well, you could easily be on my radar."

"Is that a threat?" Addie snarled.

"No," he said, a troubled look on his face, "for once it's not. It's just honest advice."

* * *

**A/N: Please continue to comment, follow, and favorite! It makes my day =)**


	3. Chapter Three

Bonnie shut the car door behind her and turned to look at Elena, who had exited the passenger side, "I'm not saying don't date the guy. I'm just saying take it slow."

"Really?" huffed Addie, pulling her backpack out of the backseat. Despite weighing a ton she still slung it over only her right shoulder, a trait she had picked up from Jeremy. But she couldn't think about that right now. "Because I'm saying run 100 meters when the guy comes within a five meter radius."

Elena scoffed looking over her shoulder at her sister, "You know, just because you have been kicking ass in track meets since elementary school doesn't mean that everyone has your passion for running." She began to walk forward before pausing for a moment to give another quip to her sister, "And most normal people can't judge a five meter radius with the eye. That's your weird logic and track brain."

Addie ignored the jibes from her sister; she could insult her into the next millennium if it meant she would stay away from Stefan Salvatore. With a few brisk strides she had reached Bonnie and Elena, who had gotten a few feet in front of her.

"You were the one who said go for it," Elena said accusatory at Bonnie, pointing her finger at her.

"Now, I'm saying take it slow," Bonnie simply smiled.

"Why the about face?" Elena asked, almost pouting.

"Does it matter, Elena?" Addie observed. "Have you seen the guy? He obviously spends wayyyyy too much time on his hair. Like, even more time than you, Bonnie, and Caroline combined. Doesn't that seem a little too self-obsessed? And honestly, I think he wears like foundation or concealer or whatever you call it to have such a perfect and even skin tone. Never seen a guy with perfect skin like that. Plus, have you noticed how his head is kind of rectangular and big? Completely throws everything off."

"Seriously, Addie? You're being as shallow as looks?" Elena judged. "Besides, I don't spend that long on my hair."

"Longer than I do," Addie murmured, before tugging the hair tie off her wrist and putting her hair up into a quick ponytail. "There, done for the day and didn't even have to stop walking."

Elena's eyes narrowed in annoyance, "It's messy."

"Messy goes with the faded AC/DC shirt, torn jeans, and converse. It's my style of the day," Addie grinned, glad that she had been able to poke at her sister, even if it wasn't exactly in the way she wanted. "Bonnie, you might want to switch her Haterade to Gatorade before practice, otherwise she'll just keep being snarky."

Elena was about to undoubtedly throw stronger words at Addie so Bonnie quickly swooped in, getting them back to the topic at hand. "It isn't an about face, Elena. You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field."

Elena faked a laugh of sudden enlightenment, "Oh because I'm so that type of girl." Then she turned to look at her friend frankly, "Seriously, what are you not saying to me?"

Addie listened to the girls go back and forth, not paying much attention and they had pretty much stopped walking.

"It's stupid."

"Bonnie…"

"What?"

"Spit it out."

"I accidentally touched Stefan and I got a really bad feeling."

This news drew Addie back into the conversation. So, she wasn't the only one getting bad vibes from the younger Salvatore. If the gut instinct of two people said he was bad… well, that carried more weight than just her own instinct.

"Is that it? Bonnie," Elena sighed, sounding a little annoyed, reached out and grabbed Bonnie's arm to stop her from walking away.

"It was bad _bad_," persisted Bonnie.

"Is this the whole witch mojo thing again?" Elena asked skeptically.

Addie could tell Bonnie was lying by avoiding directly answering the question.

"You know what? I'm just concerned. This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend."

Elan was always going to give a speech or lecture when she grabbed someone by the shoulders like she did Bonnie. Wanting to spare her friend and convince her sister that Stefan Salvatore was not to be trusted, Addie spoke up.

"It's not just Bonnie. I get a bad feeling about him, too, Elena. I know he seems really nice but I get this horrible wrenching feeling in my gut that something isn't right. I-I," Addie's voice faltered a bit as she couldn't believe she was confessing all this, "I get scared that every time I see you leave somewhere with him, that's going to be the last time I see you, Elena. I can't live with that, not after mom and dad died. Not after those moments I thought I lost you, too!"

Elena looked at her sister her dark blue eyes glistened. She hadn't seen Addie even close to tears when their parents died. Jeremy said she cried for a few minutes, while Elena was still unconscious, but that had been all. Her heart ached for Addie. Maybe she wasn't as tough as she seemed. Maybe this had affected her more than she let on and she should have been there more for her little sister; she was still just a kid. She only turned 14 the second day of school.

"Look, I love you both for your concern, I do. But I feel good! It's been a hard year and I'm starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what? Like it or not, Stefan is a big part of that. Learn to live with it, Addie."

With that, Elena resumed walking. Bonnie and Addie both looked to the other to see if the other was going to follow. Bonnie gave a small shrug. Addie walked to the other side of Bonnie and linked arms with her; this way, she wouldn't have to walk next to Elena. In a few strides they caught up to Elena. The small group continued walking in silence.

Caught in surprise by a figure practically cutting their pathway off, Addie tightened her link with Bonnie's arm, keeping her from bumping into Stefan Salvatore.

"Good morning, Elena. Good morning, Bonnie. Addie," he smiled, with a friendly tilt of his head. His hair was filled with so much product, not a strand moved with the head bob.

"Hey, um, we gotta find Caroline. She's not answering her phone. So, I'll see you guys later," Bonnie spoke for both her and Addie to Elena, leading them off in a path that cut between the pair.

When they were out of earshot. Addie stopped Bonnie. She didn't believe in the insane theory that Bonnie was a witch; laws of science made that impossible. Physics and chemistry and probably even biology denied all ideas of witchcraft. Yet, Bonnie believed she was psychic and had visions. Honestly, Addie didn't know how she felt about this; there had been some crimes that it would have been impossible to solve without a "mediator" but all of that could have been faked. It was like Roswell, New Mexico and the aliens; nothing solid to prove it but nothing solid to disprove it. Addie felt uncomfortable with things that seemed to be fifty shades of grey, if not more.

"Bonnie, tell me. Tell me what kind of feeling you got when you touched Stefan," Addie pleaded, seeing the doubtful look in her friend's brown eyes.

Pursing her lips into a thin line for a moment, Bonnie finally responded.

"Death. He felt like what I would image death to feel like."

* * *

"You explain it," Bonnie challenge, in the Gilbert kitchen. "Last night, I'm watching Nine-o, a commercial break comes on and I'm like, I bet it's that phone commercial! And sure enough, it's the guy and the girl with the beach. He flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture."

"The truth is, Bonnie, that I can read minds. I knew what you were thinking and I called up the cable company and asked them to put that commercial on," Addie grinned, her tone completely serious. She was perched on the countertop watching Elena and Bonnie trying to make takeaway look homemade.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at the younger girl and flung a piece of lettuce at her. She seriously thought this was all a joke but it was starting to freak Bonnie out.

"Oh, come on," sighed Elena, opening one of the dishes from the Italian restaurant. "That commercial is on a constant loop!"

Bonnie was ready with a counter argument, "Fine. Well, how about this? Today I'm obsessed with numbers, three numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14 and 22. How weird is that?"

"That is very weird and very concerning," Addie butted in, her tone still serious, though now she was stroking her chin like she was deep in thought. "We need to stop this obsession before it turns into a full blown case of obsessive compulsive disorder."

"I don't feel the need to do anything; I just keep seeing the numbers," emphasized Bonnie.

Addie nodded her head as if she knew Bonnie was going to say that. Her tone was much darker now, "Of course. That's how it always starts. Then the compulsion begins. We need to break the cycle."

"Addie, you're a mental case," Elena retorted, hoping to shut her sister up. She could be so annoying at times.

Addie reflected on the therapy that Jenna had forced on her after her parents' death after Elena suggested it; her sister always knew how to strike a killing blow. "I suppose you would know if I am one. Makes all the more sense that I would know what's coming, obviously. I know the warning signs as you travel down to Wonderland."

"Have you talked to your grams about the premonitions and the obsessions with numbers?" Elena asked, pointedly ignoring her sister. Again with the annoying, unhelpful commentary.

"She's just going to say it's because I'm a witch," Bonnie cringed, her face distorting with a hint of fear. "I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?"

"I don't want to be a witch," Elena said quickly.

"I'd totally want to be a witch," Addie smirked, using her hands to launch herself off the counter. "Have you heard of Hermione Granger? The Wicked Witch of the West? Sabrina the Teenage Witch? Total badasses. Maybe not so much Sabrina but you get my point. And putting Lorenzo's into our bowls isn't convincing anyone that you can actually cook, Elena."

Looking at the clock on the stove, Addie saw it was two minutes to 7:00 and she was betting Stefan was a guy who arrived right on time. She did not want to be here for this dinner and it was her house and just because Elena said she was attending didn't mean she actually had to do anything. She had control of her life, not Elena. She started heading for the stairs before stopping at the kitchen entrance, hearing Bonnie and Elena discuss serving spoons.

"Be a witch, Bonnie. Embrace the power within! Harness your energy to save or destroy the world! But if you're going to be an evil witch, I will totally follow any orders from you. I respect your power and don't want to be vaporized. Anyways, my mind reading powers tell me he will be here in less than two minutes so I'm gonna go upstairs," Addie said simply, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.

"You have to stay!" Elena balked, her eyes growing big.

Addie shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips, "I don't have to do anything you say, Elena. You're my older sister. And as much as you might like to be, you are not my prison warden."

Addie headed to Jeremy's room. She wanted to apologize about what she had said concerning Jeremy being responsible for Vickie's possible death the night of the comet since it would be because of the drugs he gave her. Addie hated having not talked to her brother for what felt like a century and she couldn't take it anymore. Besides, if Vickie had died that night, it would have been because of Damon Salvatore and possibly his brother, but definitely Damon would have played a huge role. Jeremy couldn't have done anything to stop it.

She raked a hand through her hair, making her chuckle as she noticed the nervous habit she shared with her brother. This reminded her of how close they once were and made her decision on whether to knock or to barge in like she used to. Addie and Jeremy never knocked on each other's door during the day before the accident, before the drinking and the drugs, before she would run in the rain instead of crying in her brother's arms. She wanted to get back to that state as soon as possible.

With that idea in mind, Addie strolled into the room as if there was nothing wrong. Jeremy was at his computer, a game controller in his hands and a set of giant Turtle Beach headphones on. Addie knocked the left ear muff off of Jeremy's head, not wanting to completely disrupt him if he was working on an online campaign mission and needed to hear other people. Her brother obviously was not at a stopping point because he continued to play, completely ignoring her. Figuring she wasn't going anywhere until he acknowledged her, she made herself comfortable leaning back on his pillows and resting her head on the wall.

"That's fucked up, Addison," Jeremy gritted out after about ten minutes. The headphones were now draped around his neck and the computer screen displayed the word "PAUSE".

"Hey," Addie raised her hands in an innocent, defensive gesture, "I'm the nice one in the house. Elena or Jenna would have taken off your headphones entirely. I completely respect the importance of being able to hear others in online game play."

"What do you want," he clipped back, swiveling his chair slightly to look at her, "because I have nothing to say to you."

Addie ran her fingers through her hair again nervously. They sat there in the awkward silence for several minutes as she tried to think of the words she wanted to say. No matter how hard she worked it out in her mind, she didn't think she would be able to get out the word "apologize" or "sorry" because while she regretted how she said what she said, the anger and hurt that fueled those words were still there and he still hadn't changed anything.

"I don't expect you to. Not after what I said. Jer, that night, those words, they weren't fair to you. You have no idea how much it kills me to see the person I idolized handing out narcotics and being so baked or boozed up all the time that he isn't even the brother I recognized."

Jeremy's face had gone bright red and he was about to speak up when Addie held up a hand and continued to talk. Her eyes were already watering and she didn't need him making her cry. "I know it's how you're handling everything. You become the troubled, rebellious teen and I went from the depressed girl who kept it together on the surface to practically being obviously suicidal. We're not Saint fucking Elena. We never have been and we never will be. We were the ones who gave Mom and Dad heartache and grief and trouble. We pulled our pranks and got in trouble. You fought with them over school. And my moods, well, there aren't even words to cover what my depression did to them. The thing was, we always had each other's back. You'd be there for me when I crashed. When you got over worked in school, I covered for you. I miss my brother. I can't tell you what to do but you're headed nowhere good. Take control of your own life."

Hearing the doorbell ring, Addie left her brother speechless.

Sometimes, Addie really loved how she could be practically invisible to everyone. From the top of the stairs she saw Caroline Forbes and Damon Salvatore show up with dessert. Well, that's the perfect supervillain couple: the most physically aggressive person and the most passive aggressive person that she had ever met. Cross them and you'll be mind raped and spine snapped. The thought sent a chill through her.

It was interesting to see how intent Stefan was on Damon leaving and the strained looked on his face when Elena invited him in. Damon almost looked triumphant; there was something very sinister in that smile that seemed to charm everyone. Then again everyone else hadn't almost been killed by him. It was highly amusing listening to Caroline rag on her sister. That girl completely lacked tact. It went back to interesting when Damon seem to take an interest in my sister. She already had one Salvatore to worry about; she didn't need another.

Addie couldn't resist going down to the boys when Damon got Caroline to go do dishes. Caroline Forbes did not do anything in the kitchen.

"They are people, Damon. She is not a puppet! She doesn't exist for your amusement," Stefan was sharply and quietly saying to his brother.

"Well, I don't know about that," Addie interrupted, jumping off the last step. "Caroline has unwittingly proven to be very useful in my scheming. Admittedly she doesn't jump when I say 'jump' or shall I say 'go see if Elena needs help in the kitchen' but if you whisper something in her ear and tell her not to tell, she will parrot it right out. She's kinda like a real girl Pinocchio with bones made of wood, I suppose."

Damon's icy eyes narrowed as he watched Addie calmly walk and sit on the couch while Stefan's hazel-green eyes were wide like a deer caught in headlights.

"So you'd agree that I can use her for my amusements then, right, Addie?" Damon said, a smug look on his face.

She mused over this for a second. Addie knew Damon was off his rocker and that killing her would have probably fallen into his realm of amusements. And there was just that vibe from him and Stefan that told her they could do whatever the hell they wanted and get away with it. She didn't like that.

The next line out of her mouth was probably the most dangerous thing she would ever say, "You can't. I'm her friend. I'm not going to hurt her. I can."

Damon slid from the arm of the chair that he was resting on into the actual seat, "Addison, is that a threat?"

"It's just honest advice," Addie replied simply, echoing back the words he told her when he warned her about getting on his bad side.

Stefan was staring at Damon like he was a vicious, man eating lion just released into the Colosseum to hunt down a man in the small stadium.

"We both know you're just for my amusement, too, Ads. You and everybody else are whatever I want you to be," he grinned but his eyes spoke for him. Whoever he wanted dead would be dead.

Addie nodded slowly, making eye contact with him. She dreaded looking someone in the eye but she wanted Damon to know that she understood him and he better understand her. "If you intend on playing with any of my family or friends, you're going to have to throw me out first."

He batted his long eyelashes at her and put on a fake voice of glee, "Why, my little Ads, you flatter me! Offering your head up to me on a silver platter; that so sweet."

"Don't kid yourself," she spat. "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me."

He scooted to the edge of his seat, leaning forwards towards her, "You wouldn't even know where to begin. You wouldn't stand a chance, kid."

Her voice turned darker as she reflected on what I knew about him, "I know what happened that night in the rain. Your healing, your strength. I saw you up on that inaccessible rooftop with Vickie Donovan. I know she has no idea that she was ever there. I'm pretty sure I know how you got her up there and how Stefan got her off-" Stefan gave a sharp inhale. "I saw you come here today. I don't care as long as my friends and family are alive and well. It's none of my business and so I mind my own business. But know this, I know, Damon Salvatore. I know."

Addie honestly had no clue what the hell she was going on about but by the widening, narrowing, and normalizing of Damon's eyes told her there was something that she clearly did not know but with that information she could know.

He nodded once. "Truce. Until I have to kill one of your friends or family because somebody always does something stupid. Then you're more than welcome to a fair fight."

Addie casually shrugged a shoulder and scampered back up the stairs, hearing the girls return to the living room.

* * *

Addie leaned dramatically to her right, turning her Xbox controller with her so that it made a 60 degree angle with the floor. Her left thumb was jammed hard on the joystick that controlled the directions of 2007 Sparkling Plum Cobra that she had been racking up in-game money to customize. Her brother, leaning back comfortably in the overstuffed sofa, let his eyes quickly flicker to her before focusing back on the 2005 red Mustang convertible that he controlled. He really wanted to brag about how his had much better handling and acceleration but that was only because he spent more time playing than Addie did. Racing games were Addie's domain since they would challenge each other back in the first grade at the old arcade machines that you actually sat in. They had given the games salutes with rootbeer floats when the Mystic Grill took them out. Bragging wouldn't be the best idea, considering this was the first time they were kind of having a bonding moment like old times. When things were back to normal, Jeremy was definitely going to rub his cars superiority in her face. It was the only thing that was keeping him just barely ahead of her.

"You know that turning your body and the controller doesn't actually turn the car?" Jeremy grinned, easily drifting around the streets of New York City.

"It doesn't hurt," Addie gritted out, "unlike your crashing into lamppost. They're big lit up things that are not on the road. It should be obvious to stay away from them."

"Meow," Jeremy jokingly purred. "Addison has claws."

"It was just some helpful advice," Addie smugly gleamed as she passed Jeremy as he was working on getting back up to speed after hitting another light post. In a matter of moments, her second class car crossed the finish line in first place.

Jeremy drove his car over the line before flipping the channel to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. "Friendly advice isn't said like a grumpy cat. Anyways, it's time for more pizza."

Addie was going to argue that she did not sound like a grumpy cat but really it hadn't been a friendly piece of advice at all and had just been her being snarky. The snarkiness in her came out when she was competitive, she could admit to herself. Oh, alright, it was there all the time but some things made it more like a flowing volcano rather than a bubbling one.

"No pizza for you Jer, you finished yours," Addie said, swatting at his hand as he reached for the pizza box and giving him a look as if she couldn't believe he was being so oblivious. She opened the box and pulled out a piece of extra cheese, very little sauce and sat back, munching on the large slice as she realized Family Guy was on. One of the many things she loved about Jeremy was that he didn't care if she used a plate or paper towel or napkin because he sure as hell wasn't.

Elena would have demanded it be put on a plate first where it would rest just until she could move the plate into her lap and then the pizza would never touch the plate again. Why dirty a dish just for that? This was soft and doughy pizza and it wasn't overly greasy so it wasn't like there was a concern about crumbs or grease stains. And the controllers were hers and Jeremy's; if they were fine with wiping their hands on their pants and then getting a tiny bit of grease on the controllers, that was their business. They'd clean them eventually. So it wasn't the most hygienic thing in the world but it's not like either one of them got sick from it.

"Seriously, Addie? You have two slices left!" Jeremy pouted, pointing to each one in the box his sister had left open, taunting him. He had finished his pineapple and pepperoni about an hour ago.

Addie nodded slowly, "Yeah, I'm going to eat one after this slice and then cold pizza is for breakfast tomorrow morning." She could see her brother's face drop. Although she really did want another piece and then cold pizza in the morning, she wasn't mean enough to eat in front of someone who wanted some of what she had. Really, she didn't need another piece tonight. But she was not giving up that cold slice of pizza in the morning; that was one of the best things ever and she was selfish enough to not share that.

"Jeremy," she said slowly and patiently as if trying to explain something to a two-year-old, "do you honestly think I'm serious? I may be a bitch but I'm not that much of a bitch. You're confusing your sisters. Have a slice!"

Both siblings' faces broke out into identical smiles at the same time; wide, toothy, and a dimple just under the left eye.

"Dude, I totally love you," Jeremy grinned around a mouth stuffed full of pizza.

Addie felt warm, glowing sensation inside; she'd never been so happy to see partially chewed up food inside her brother's mouth. Maybe he would be alright. Maybe they would be alright.

That warm feeling quickly simmered out as the front door was opened and in walked Elena. Addie could see the exhausted and slightly pissed off look in her dark brown eyes. She had totally won the gene pool lottery with her eyes the color of the ocean way out at sea, in her humble opinion. Addie may have had the prettier eyes but she was still looking at St. Elena. Seeing that anger simmering just under Elena's surface, Addie couldn't help but poke at her. She needed to be not so damn perfect.

"Well don't you look all pur-ty in that shimmery, clingy, cloth that passes for clothes these days," chirped Addie in an old woman's voice with a hint of a southern drawl. Really, the gown wasn't that bad except for the fact that she was relying on an almost non-existent chest to hold it up; though Addie did find all the brightness and shimmering of the fabric kind of gaudy. Definitely not something you'd catch her in. Of course the only way she'd be wearing a dress was if someone put it on her corpse.

"Leave me alone, Addison," barked Elena stalking up the stairs and slamming the door to her room.

Oh, this was too easy.

"I hear 'Follow me, Addison,'" mimicked Addie in a much cheerier voice. She waggled her eyebrows at Jeremy mischievously but he was too focused on Family Guy. Guess their little night of bonding was over. Taking his lack of interest in her as her permission to be dismissed, Addie crept up the stairs just a few minutes after Elena.

Addie knew Bonnie and Elena had done some juicy gossiping while getting ready for the Founder's Day party but Addie really preferred to get things started with Jeremy; they had just order pizza and picked Marvel vs DC as their first game. However, Addie was dying to know what Bonnie had to say because the way her lips were drawn into a thin line told Addie it was something she really wanted to. Running water echoed slightly in the hall. Maybe it would be best to start this off on neutral territory if she wanted information rather than to simply piss off Elena. Addie unlocked her door and turned into her room and took a quick appreciative look at the black walls splatter painted with neon colors. That was perhaps the only cool thing about Jenna; she totally bought the idea that repainting her room would help her move on after the accident. Of course, Jenna had thought she had meant going from white to something bright and cheery, like a light pink and not, as Elena called it, soul crushing black. The neon colors were bright, as Addie had quickly pointed out; it wasn't like she was turning her room into a dungeon, even if the navy light bulbs she had put in her ceiling fan gave it a dark glow.

Twisting the knob to the bathroom she shared with Elena, she gently pushed the door open and found her sister vigorously scrubbing at her face, particularly her eyes, with a washcloth.

"See, you've been getting ready for this party since five and it's past one in the morning; you've dedicated eight hours of your life to a miserable party for a bunch of stuffy old people. Plus, think of all the hard work that went into your hair and makeup and all for what? Just so you could spend ten minutes trying to clean your face? This is so why I don't understand fancy," sighed Addie, sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

Elena scrubbed at her face for a few more minutes before finally deciding it was clean.

"For once," Elena scoffed, heading into her bedroom and into her closet as Addie could see from the reflective mirror, "you just might have a point. Tonight was a complete disaster thanks to the one and thankfully only Damon Salvatore."

"Ugh. I don't like that guy. I don't trust him," Addie said, knowing she sounded like a petulant five-year-old. "I don't want you around him or his brother."

Elena emerged from her closet and plopped down across from her as she had somehow made her way to Elena's bed.

"Do not be around him, Addison. He is dangerous. Promise me you'll have nothing to do with him," Elena instructed, her eyes turning into wide saucers.

That definitely caught her off guard; Elena never went into "overprotective-sister" mode on her, Jeremy perhaps, but not Addie. Her warning and Addie's memories of him almost killing her almost immediately made her blood start to boil.

"What did he do to you?" she ask sternly, ready to grab Jeremy's baseball bat and march over to the Salvatore boarding house.

"It's not what he did to me; it's what he's doing to Caroline," snapped her sister, her voice rising.

Huh? What did the overly caffeinated blonde have to do with this? Was he actually stupid enough to kill the girl he was dating? No, Elena had said doing, current tense.

"Ok, I got a mile long list on the guy but you start from the beginning, I get he's seeing Caroline. Caught that at the dinner party the other night. Catch me up," Addie boss Elena, needing her facts straight.

Elena popped her knuckles in anger making Addie flinch. She not afraid Elena was going to hit her but it reminded her too much of the snap her left ulna and radius made when she broke her arm trying to copy a skateboard move Jeremy did when she was nine.

"So Damon's been brainwashing Caroline," Elena starts.

"Can't say I haven't done that," Addie butt in, remembering the time she had the blond convinced into eating dog treats that looked like beef jerky and had her thinking they would make her lose weight within a week so she could fit into another school dance costume. It was mean, Addie knew, but the girl was just so….

Elena continued on, too distracted to be mad at Addie's past deeds, "He's telling her this story. You remember the Katherine Damon mentioned?"

"No, I tend to ignore everything that guy says," Addie casually remarked, leaning back against her palms.

"You remember everything. Well at dinner Damon brings up how he and Stefan both loss Katherine. So, apparently they both dated her. When I asked Damon who dated her first he said his answer would differ from Stefan's. Either one secretly dated the other first or there was some cheating involved, I figured. You know Damon never gives a straight answer, it seems."

"Neither does Stefan," Addie couldn't help but mumble during Elena's one-breath rant. It, like her other comment, went ignored. Addie had a feeling she was being used as Elena's diary as her hand would really cramp up if she had to write all this out. Elena always added in so many unneeded words and details. Addie was guilty of it too but she didn't annoy her.

"Bonnie told me that Caroline told her that Damon said Stefan has major issues over Katherine; meaning she's completely convinced," Elena scoffed. When she saw Addie's complete lack of interest, Elena slapped her hand with emphasis. "Are you not getting this?"

They both had major issues from what Addie had seen and had warned Elena against them many-a times. Of course she got it. "I'm still kind of reeling over the fact that you just told me a he-said-she-said-they-said. So, what are these major issues?"

"According to Damon," Elena rolled her eyes, stressing this as if she couldn't believe it but the twitch at the corner of her lip was a giveaway that she didn't know fact from fiction right now, "Katherine picked Damon over Stefan. According to Damon, yet again, that drove Stefan to do all these horrible things to try and break them apart. Damon says he manipulated Katherine by filling her head with all these lies until it worked, and she turned against Damon and wanted Stefan again. Of course, Damon is the calculating, manipulative one," Elena snapped.

"That's a shocker," boredom laced Addie's words. Was any of this really unexpected considering what she has seen from Damon and Stefan? The only concrete evidence she had on Stefan was the night on the roof with Vickie but that was weird enough to be qualified as twisted in her opinion. She wasn't about to reveal that to Elena though, because, well, she hadn't really figured it out herself yet. Lord knew how many time she tried to convince Elena not to see Stefan. She highly doubted butting in now while she was on a pro-Stefan/anti-Damon rant would change her mind on seeing the boy.

Elena held up a finger as if to warn Addie, "It gets worse. Damon tried to kiss me the other night; the night Tanner was killed. Tonight he apologizes for 'acting out'" she said with actual air quotes. "His therapist blames his behavior on the fact that he is punishing Stefan for old sibling rivalry."

Addie couldn't help but scoff, which turned into a snort, then turned into a full laugh, "Like Damon Salvatore sees a therapist. I mean he needs one if anyone does but I don't think he's the touchy feely type that's going to bare his soul to a therapist."

"Oh, it's not all Damon's fault," Elena mocked in a fake, innocent voice as if defending Damon. "Apparently they're cursed to have this sibling rivalry dating all the way back to the original Damon and Stefan Salvatore who signed the original Founding Declaration guest list. Of course the original brothers died over a woman, probably one they were competing for. He can't control that he and Stefan must battle for everything."

Then Addie saw Elena's shoulders curl and her head drop. Her voice lowered and shook a little as she continued her story, "I told him I'm not Katherine and I wasn't going to get caught up in this thing between them." She chewed on her lip nervously for a moment, "Then I danced with Stefan and I kind of did get into the middle of it. Stefan is this mystery guy with this Katherine secret and I hardly know anything about him but he knows all about my drama."

"Because you make sure everyone in Mystic Falls knows how tragic your life is and how perfect you are for keeping it together," Addie murmured so quietly that Elena couldn't hear.

"I mean if he's not going to tell me anything, then all I'm left with is what other people say about him. Even if it does come from Damon. Of course, Stefan pointed out that that was exactly what Damon was doing; that he was trying to come between us. But really, if he's not going to tell me anything, I think I have the right to be a little annoyed. Even if I apologized later but I totally shouldn't have because all he says is that there are things he can't tell me!" Elena said indignantly.

"Very true," Addie nodded. This was so not worth her time. She thought she was actually going to get some new information about Damon and Stefan. The fact that they had sibling problems wasn't exactly newsworthy; Elena and Addie had fights to rival North and South Korea. And ever since the accident, there was an unsaid feeling of bitterness and anger felt by Addie towards Elena. At first she didn't care who knew that she was pissed and blamed her sister for going to that stupid party on family night and then called and whined to be picked up because she chose to break-up with her boyfriend in the middle of nowhere. After bashing Damon's face in over and over again though, she had learned to bury it.

Damon's face. There was something odd there; that night in the rain she kept feeling and hearing bones snap and crunch under her knuckles as she sat on his chest, fighting for her life. When she had finally stopped hitting, his face was normal, excluding the fair amount of blood from what should have been busted lips and a broken nose. She knew she had made face-altering injuries but he was just bloody. It didn't make sense. How had he healed over and over again so quickly? There was an answer but her brain just wasn't putting the parts together; she was missing the last few pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. It gave her a headache thinking about it.

She went back to focusing on her sister talking, "-bite marks and bruises."

"Wait. Wait. Wait," Addie said, shaking her head. She had clearly missed something important by her sister's outraged face. "Say that again."

Elena sighed impatiently, "I said that Caroline is in complete denial about Damon abusing her! I saw her in the bathroom tonight and she is completely covered in bite marks and bruises."

"Bite marks?" Addie asked, trying to keep her face as serious as possible. There had to be a limit to the ridiculousness with this guy. "Are we talking two fangs like a vampire and Twilight has come to town or all 32 teeth and Hannibal Lecter is chowing down on the head cheerleader? "

Elena gave her sister a dark look; this was her best friend they were talking about, "More on the 'let-me-sink-all-of-my-front-teeth-into-you-until-you-bleed' bite on the neck and 'as-many-teeth-as-I-can-mark-you-with' on the shoulder."

"Whoa," Addie blew out. "I knew the guy was off but blood play kinky wasn't even on the game board I was thinking of."

* * *

**A/N: Dun! Dun! Dun! Will Addie finally add it all up?**


	4. Chapter 4

Addie straddled her bike, pumping the handbrake mindlessly. The words from Elena's diary repeated in her head.

It's not possible. I'm not a believer, I can't be. But how can I deny what's right in front of me? Someone who never grows old. Never gets hurt. Someone who changes in ways that can't be explained. Girls bitten. Bodies drained of blood. Stefan and Damon are vampires.

Addie had read the entry in her sister's diary a few days ago. It was the simplest way to keep up with Elena's life as Addie had a horrible tendency to tune her out. She had read about the video footage from 1957 that Elena had seen containing "Stefan" and about how his face distorted when she cut her finger. Elena wrote that she swore Stefan cut his hand in a fight when Jeremy broke a bottle; a problem she'd deal with later. Though Stefan said it was someone else's blood.

Elena was one of those girls who had been swept up in the garbage called _Twilight_. Addie was pretty concerned; was her sister not so perfect? Had she gone a little crazy and dreamt up her own Edward Cullen and instead of that werewolf guy his brother was going to fight him for her undying love? Did the grief of the accident cause her to go off the deep end or was it just the phenomenon that hypnotized millions that made her searching for _vampires_ in real life?

Addie undid her ponytail so she could run her fingers through her hair. Nervous habits can be hard to notice when you're freaking about your sister's sanity. Though, if she was she really questioning her sanity why was she in front of the Salvatore boarding house instead of tattling to Aunt Jenna? Oh, right, because she wasn't her sister trying to ship her other sister off to a mental hospital; that was Elena's M.O.

Elena was thinking crazy but there was something different about the Salvatores. She had her own facts and questions. She was fairly sure that Damon had some crazy super healing ability because she knew he should have needed plastic surgery after what she had done to him. She had examined the building Damon had taken Vickie too and the only way up there was to jump 60 feet. There wasn't any escape ladder of any kind. He had to have crazy leg strength. Vickie didn't remember being on the roof but was that some kind of hypnosis or because she was drugged out? And both Stefan and Damon must have really strong bones to be able to withstand the impact of a 60 foot jump.

Addie was thinking a lot of steroids for the strength and some crazy sort of medical experiment for the super healing and the genetic mutation LRP5 for the really strong bones. That didn't mean she didn't want an explanation from Damon himself. Screw all his threats and crap. She was going to have to have a heart to heart with the completely capable killer Damon Salvatore. She propped her bike against the house and raised her hand to knock.

Damon opened the door, letting out the strong stench of alcohol. He leaned casually against the frame as if he was expecting her. Addie couldn't deny that knowing smirk was a little sexy. "My, my, my. It looks like my little Ads has come for a visit,"

Damon gleamed like the cat that caught the mouse. He'd seen her riding the silver and navy mountain bike up the driveway an hour ago. He could hear her pedaling in reverse; traveling nowhere, meeting no resistance even when she would occasionally pump the hand brake. For a human, her balance was impressive to last for up to ten minutes before needing to set her foot down to re-balance herself. Nice perk of being a vampire - super hearing.

Damon had spent that hour wondering whether or not she would have the courage to knock or not. Downside was that vampirism didn't come with mind reading. Based on her heart rate he would have bet a fine shot of bourbon she wouldn't have the nerve to approach him if she knew who he was, like she claimed at dinner the other night. Apparently, he had no idea what he had activated in that broken and tragically wounded girl in the rain when he had told her to _take control of her life. _

It wasn't like he was concerned if the kid knew he was a vampire. Actually, it'd be kind of fun to have her in the know. Damon had spent some time watching his little tragic transformation and he found that Addie had a pretty narrow view of the world. She believed in facts and science and hard evidence. He was impressed when she had nearly made that perky blonde cry as Addie spit out scientific fact after fact ranging from the biological composition of the human body to the lack of gravitational influence of other planets due to distance disputing the idea that astrology was real. Caroline had called her a classic Virgo, holding her head high, though her eyes had shone with tears at the end of the twenty minute slam. After he'd been invited to the Gilbert house he'd gone back one night to look at her and noticed her books; they were all practical and most non-fiction, the fiction ones were ones that had been written when he was actually alive and considered literary masterpieces or detective/mystery fiction with logical answers. He'd found a copy of _Dracula _that must have been required for school as there was commentary written in it, most of it degrading to the author or the ideology or how something was impractical or impossible. Damon couldn't resist himself and had written his own commentary on the inside of the back cover, "_You've got it all wrong,_" before sticking it back on her anally organized bookshelf.

Standing in front of him, she looked so small and young. Addie was at least a good six or seven inches shorter than her sister. His smirk tugged upwards just a bit more as he recalled that she had spent her 14th birthday, just a few weeks ago on the second day of school, competing in a paintball competition. Everyone was masked so he had joined in. She was pretty good for being a 14-year-old girl. Addie had made it to the last 8 standing out of 40 people. Damon got a bit bored by that point though and decided to start playing with his vampire blessed skilled and knocked everyone out. Then he went home and reunited with his little brother. That was a fun day.

He had to keep in check that this little side project, this kid, didn't distract from his main goal: freeing Katherine. Her sister, who was a freaky clone of some kind, was very distracting. It was like he didn't need to free Katherine; the woman he loved was right there. But it was hard to remember it was just her body not her personality that was there; especially when she was fawning all over Stefan. The kid was a good distraction from the Elena problem, though. She had a darkness to her and watching her _taking control of her life_ under his compulsion was kind of fascinating. He'd never compelled someone for their own good and definitely not for something so active and long lasting.

"I want to talk to you," Addie declared, crossing her arms in front of her, making it clear she wasn't going anywhere until she got what she wanted. She hoped she looked and sounded more confident than she felt.

With a dramatic flourish of his arms as if presenting her to the Queen of England he challenged, "Well, by all means do come in."

She didn't trust the sparkle in Damon's eye as angled his body so she could pass by him. Addie rocked back and forth in her navy Converse; they had gone with the skinny navy tie that had been her dad's over a white buttoned blouse with a pair of black skinny jeans. Elena had given her shit over wearing a tie and some people had given her weird looks at the Grill earlier but she really didn't care. Addie found comfort in tying the Windsor knot she had seen her father do so many mornings for work. As she absent mindedly loosened and tightened it throughout the day, it brought back happy, warming memories of times with her dad. She rolled the end around her finger nervously as she watched Damon lock the door.

"To Sotheby's Auction, shall we?" smirked Damon, offering Addie his arm to loop hers through.

Her cerulean eyes were hard and cold as she looked Damon in the eye, "You're acting weirder than usual."

"You're not the only one who has annoying siblings and aunts/uncles who think they can change you. I've been a bit under house arrest the past few days. I suppose it's really starting to mess with my social skills," Damon shrugged, a bit of a teasing smile fighting the scowling face he was making.

Addie let out an exaggerated scoff, "It's _starting_ to mess with your social skills? Man, no wonder I don't understand people. Good social skills are based off of trying to kill someone." She smacked herself in the head and continued on in an immensely sarcastic tone,"How could I have been so oblivious?"

Damon chuckled darkly. Even knowing him now, that sound still made her feel drawn to him.

"If I remember correctly you told me to do it," he smirked, taking a step closer to her so there was only about a foot between them.

The feeling of his strong hand crushing her throat close came back; suddenly the tie at her neck felt like it was trying to strangle her, too. She didn't want to look at him because that would require her to look up as he was towering over her now. That would mean exposing her throat to him again. But if she didn't then she would look weak and she couldn't let him get the best of her.

"A normal person would have let go when someone started clawing at their hand, not work harder to try and kill someone," Addie sneered, staring at the tip of his nose; she couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes.

Damon gave a crooked half grin, "I think we both know I'm pretty far from normal. I'm pretty damn extraordinary. If you really wanted to die or if I really wanted you dead, you wouldn't be here criticizing my social skills. I was being _nice_. How many other people would have let you smash their face in without putting up a fight?"

Addie brought her hand up to rub over her face in attempt to calm down; she couldn't help but notice the silky feel of Damon's black button up. Her thumb and index finger held her chin when she finally spoke after several seconds, "That's you being nice? What the hell do consider being mean? Actually, I don't think I want to know." Addie stepped back and gave him a skeptical look, remembering something odd he had said, "You're, what, in your mid 20s? And your 17-year-old brother and uncle have put you under house arrest? You don't exactly seem like the type to take orders… or punishment."

"I never said I didn't break the rules," he winked, with a hint of a smile like he knew something she didn't.

"Then why would house arrest be getting to your social skills," Addie quipped back, despising that knowing look of his.

For the first time she saw Damon seem to falter for words for a moment. A break in that stony exterior, almost as if he did have emotions. "I decided to play along with their little 'treatment plan' for awhile thinking it might be fun to let them think they could finally teach an old dog new tricks. Then, I got bored and went out last night. Met some people but there was very little talking but a lot of...drinking. So, you're really the first person I've had a conversation with in quite a few days."

"Aww, were you too pouty to talk to Stefan and Uncle Zach?" she was not about to feel sorry for him.

His brow crinkled, "Not really. My family is more the 'lock-you-in-a-prison-and-only-visit-to-drop-off-meals' kind when it comes to house arrest."

Addie scoffed again. "Yeah, you look real trapped to me," she mocked jerking her head towards the door."

"You could say I busted out of my jail cell," Damon smirked wickedly, sending chills through Addie.

"And you're rebelling by raiding your uncle's liquor cabinet," Addie tacked on conspiratorially, still noticing the overwhelming scent of alcohol. "Wow. You've got this whole "dangerous, bad guy" thing down that you could give my wimpy brother a run for his money."

Damon scowled. If she wanted to mock him, he'd just have to give her a shock about how serious he was. He turned on his heel and swaggered towards the living room, knowing Addie would be curious and follow. "Speaking of Jeremy, I had one of his friends over since last night. It wasn't like I raided the cabinet on my own, little missy. Frankly, if she wasn't… out of commission at the moment, I would still be partying it up with her and not playing 20 questions with you."

"It's 21 questions," Addie snapped before letting his words sink in and rushing to follow him. "Out of comm-? Oh. My. God." Addie stood on the steps that descended into the living room, catching sight of Vickie Donovan sleeping on the Salvatore's couch. She was on her stomach but her head was twisted around enough that she could see her face. Addie rubbed her eyes furiously with the heels of her hands; she could feel a headache coming on.

"Did you sleep with her," she shot Damon an accusatory look while pointing a stiff finger at Vickie. When she saw Damon start to open her mouth she held up her hand in protest, "Actually, I really, really, really don't want to know. Ugh! I don't know who is more disgusting; you for hanging out with her or her for hanging out with you! I can't believe I'm saying this but I thought you at least had some taste!"

"Well, I did try to kill her. Twice. Well, three times kind of," he said with a bit of a defensive shrug. "But the girl just seemed to keep living. Figured she must of had a fire in her, like you."

Addie felt the bile rise in the back of her throat. This was the girl that stole Jeremy away from; the girl he'd been doing all that horrible stuff with. She felt the heat in her cheeks and narrowing of her eyes and wasn't surprised to hear her voice as a threatening whisper, "Don't _ever_ compare me to that bitch."

"I wasn't," Damon said innocently, the light making his eyes look like the color of a crashing wave as they went wide. "I was completely wrong. Her life was so pathetic and she was so damaged without an ounce of self-esteem like you were on the night we met. Difference between you and her is that you still had the will to fight in you, even if you didn't think so. I can testify to the multiple broken bones and busted lips."

Addie's eyes flashed around at all the books lining the room. She couldn't handle what he was saying. No, she'd just find a familiar book and they would talk about that. They wouldn't talk about that night in the rain. They wouldn't talk about Vickie. He was… he was talking about her like she was dead.

As much as she tried not to look she couldn't help it. Vickie's head, yes, she could have been sleeping with her head sideways but people's heads didn't turn up past their shoulder when they slept. Knowing what she would find, Addie wasn't sure why she was walking towards Vickie. Squatting in front of her she stuck a finger under the other girl's nose; no, she wasn't breathing. Cringing at the broken neck she felt around for the jugular vein; no, there was no pulse. Slowly Addie stood back up and turned to face Damon who was making himself a drink.

Feeling her eyes on him Damon couldn't hide the smugness in his voice when he asked her if she wanted a drink.

"I'm 14," Addie responded, shaking her head dumbly, still trying to process that he had actually killed Vickie. It was one thing to know he could but to know that he did kill someone, someone she knew….

"Do I look like the type to card someone?" Damon said, using Addie's conspiratorial voice of earlier.

Addie studied him for a moment, "Yeah, actually. I could see you as a barback. You'd card some underage kid with a fake ID and cut it up just for the power rush. Just to show you're the boss, you're the one in control."

Damon seemed to contemplate the idea as he took a seat on the sofa, nursing his drink in one hand. "No, that would mean I would have to have a real job and can you really see me having a job? I think I'd have co-worker relationship problems. But if I ever catch you with a fake ID, I'll cut it up just for the power rush. Do you think you're being brave, Addie, telling me I have control issues?"

"No, Damon, I'm just telling you the truth," she sighed heavily, shifting her weight from one hip to the other.

Damon didn't like the fact that she wasn't completely freaking out that he had just killed her brother's girlfriend. "Have a seat," he said indicating the opposite end of the couch. "I believe you wanted to talk?"

Addie raked a hand through her hair nervously, "I did but it seems like it might be a bad time. You have a dead body for company and I don't really want to know how you're going to handle that. I think I would be charged with 'conspiracy after the fact' and I doubt I would go Ivy league with something like that on my record." She gave a dry laugh.

Damon rolled his eyes, "It's not like she's going anywhere right now and I won't have a dead body to deal with. Sit."

Addie hated how he used his power at that moment; that last word was a command not a request.

"Speak."

"I'm not a dog," Addie snapped, without thinking.

"No but I will eventually need to deal with Vickie and I would prefer you not be here," Damon said harshly.

Why was she making this so difficult? Vickie had been "dead" for awhile and he didn't want the girl to wake up and kill his project. Ugh, now Vickie was a project too. He hadn't thought about that. He needed to get his mind focused again. Katherine, Katherine, and only Katherine. No Elena, Addie, and Vickie. Maybe he should let Vickie kill Addie then he would kill Vickie. It would be a quick solution to two distractions... No, he really wanted to see how this little life compulsion played out with Addie. Katherine wouldn't mind as long as he managed to get her free; she liked experiments, she'd understand.

Addie took a deep breath and rushed out "So, does your Uncle Zach have the genetic mutation LRP5? I read that it was genetic. I don't mean to be offensive, it's just kind of a really cool phenomenon and -"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Damon asked, looking at her as if she had grown a second head.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," Addie said quickly flushing. "I mean, I think it's pretty cool. Your bones are like what, 8 times denser than the average person? Do you know how many people would love to jump from a 60 foot building without having to be attached to a bungee cord to survive?"

"Wait," Damon said slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose, "you think I can do that because of some genetic mutation?"

"Well, yeah," Addie stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, Zach doesn't have that mutation. Is that all you wanted to talk about?" Damon sighed in frustration. He really thought she had thought outside the box and figured out that he was a vampire.

"The medical experiment you're in that lets you heal so fast; is it dangerous? When is it going to be available to the public? Can it cure cancer or HIV? Is it going to be something really impacting?" Addie fired off, fear and hope in her deep blue eyes.

Damon tossed back the last of his bourbon. Of course she would come up with some logical explanation for that night. He slammed his tumbler on the coffee table. Damon didn't know why he felt angry with her. "So, you have an explanation for everything except how I got onto the roof."

Addie's eyebrows knitted together, "Of course I do. That's the easiest; a grappling hook and rope. And maybe a bit of steroids; that would also explain why you're hot and cold temper."

Damon shook his head in disappointment. "If that's all you came for, I think it's time for you to leave." Detached Damon started to stand.

"It's not," Addie said firmly. When Damon looked back at her, she was still seated and kept looking from him to the couch expectantly.

"Oook. What else have you got to tell me?" Damon grumbled, sitting back down, his arms crossed.

If Addie didn't know any better she'd say Damon was pouting; it was kinda cute. But he was a murdering psychopath. "Sibling to sibling, I need you to convince Stefan to stay away from Elena and I need you to stay away from her too."

"Why?" Damon asked suspiciously. He was all for keeping Stefan away from Elena but why couldn't he have her?

Addie shook her head slowly, looking perplexed, "It's not healthy for her."

"Healthy?" Damon prodded.

"Look, you've kept my secret about that night so can I trust you with one more about Elena?" Addie said softly, tears rimming her eyes.

Damon didn't know what made him do it but he scooted closer to Addie, taking one of her hands between his and holding it in attempt to comfort her. It was awkward; he didn't recall genuinely trying to comfort someone. The last true comfort he could remember was Katherine telling _him_ that everything would be ok with the purging of vampires in Mystic Falls in 1864.

"I promise I'll keep it just between us," he said softly, noticing she was staring at their hands. It really was awkward. Then he felt her interlaced fingers with his and a soft squeeze. Still weird but definitely a little less. He could tell it was just as weird for her from how stiffly she held her hand.

Addie raked her free hand through her hair and stared at the high ceiling, trying not to let gravity pull her tears out. "I think Elena's really sick. I thought she was handling our parents' death perfectly but Stefan and you seem to be making her crack. God, I can't even believe I'm saying this. Don't get offended. Elena thinks you and Stefan are vampires. Stefan's her Edward Cullen's personified and you're the Jacob wolf guy except as a vampire, either way, you represent another guy also fighting for her love. It's like she's let the lines between reality and fiction blur. Except it's even worse because it's not like she's blurring realistic fiction; there's no such thing as vampires." Damon was staring at her, leaving Addie uncomfortably scrambling for words. "I know I probably sound crazy even just saying this but she's my _sister. _I have to do what I can to keep her alright. I don't want her sent away somewhere. I mean just because she's a bitch of enough to try and get me shipped-"

"Addie," Damon said softly but effectively stopping her frantic speech. "Oh, my little Ads," her murmured, tracing random patterns on her hand. "You were suppose to be the one to figure that out; not Elena." He could feel Addie recoiling, trying to pull her hand away but he held it firmly. "I thought you wanted to talk because you figured it but instead you come over here with all these logical explanations because you can't fathom the idea of a world that can't be put into formula and equations. Then to make it worse, you think your sister is crazy because she's figured out what I really am."

"What you really are?" Addie spoke softly, sadly. "Oh, Damon," she brought her free hand up and cautiously placed it on his cheek, her thumb sweeping over his 5 o'clock shadow. "I knew - I - Damon, do you really think you're a vampire? You're not. I mean, I know what you're capable of but that doesn't make you a vampire. You're just…"

"Just what?" Damon asked neutrally. He wasn't sure about that sad look that she was giving him. It wasn't pity; it was a look of compassion that held understanding. She had been lost about who she was until he compelled her. Addie really thought she understood about him not really knowing who he was.

She wanted to say he was just sick but she didn't exactly know how Damon would respond to that. Instead she just went to pull her hand away from Damon's face but was surprised when she felt his warm dry hand holding it to his face.

"You were playing 20 questions before; let's play again," Damon said nervously, suddenly not wanting her to bolt and run, to be afraid of him.

Addie wanted nothing more than to leave but Damon sounded and looked vulnerable. That scared her more than the knowledge that he had killed Vickie; he was really sick. She pulled both her hands away from him firmly and set them in her lap. "It's 21 questions."

"You shouldn't need that many. The clue is vampire and questions aren't limited to yes/no, just to whatever you need to know to believe me," Damon sighed in relief, seeing that she wasn't bolting.

Addie couldn't believe she was going along with this. She wasn't going to believe Damon because vampires weren't real. But what would happen if she told him she didn't believe him? Would he kill her like he killed Vickie? He seemed harmless enough right now but she still remembering him trying to kill her before. Maybe she could prove to him that he wasn't one.

She'd go with the most obvious question first: "Where are your fangs?"

Damon gave her a full, toothy grin, exposing, as she expected his slightly pointed canine teeth. Then the teeth extended and a set of sharp, elongated fangs appeared. His mouth was now open so she could she from the gap between the fangs to the back of his mouth. Addie jumped back in fear, scurrying of the couch and backing into the window curtains.

Damon's fangs retracted as he got off the couch slowly. He held his hands open palm and innocently towards Addie as he moved closer to her. He left about four feet in between them, not wanting her to feel crowded. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Oh, yeah?" Addie said laughing nervously, feeling like she was on the verge of a breakdown. Her mind had to be playing tricks on her. Or he must have used some kind of illusion. "What do you eat?"

"Same kind of food as you do," Damon shrugged innocently, knowing this isn't what she meant. Still, it meant she wasted a question by poor phrasing on her part.

"What do you need to - to - to function properly?" she asked again, fishing for the right words.

"Blood."

Addie pushed herself further into the wall, "I'm going to take a stab in the dark and assume you mean human blood."

"Well, Stefan _is_ on the Edward Cullen diet of bunnies and deer but he always, eventually falls off the wagon," Damon added.

"So you could live off only animal blood and not hurt anyone if you wanted to?" Addie said, raking her hands through her hair. How was she even considering this?

"Living that way makes you very weak." He could hear the slightly hopeful tone in Addie's voice was was determined to quickly squash it, "I kill people. I drink human blood. I like being strong. That will never change."

It looked like Addie was working out a puzzle in her head, "Caroline?"

Damon groaned, "That's an opened question but I'm _trying _to be honest with you. I was feeding off of Caroline. I would take blood from her and I convinced her, I compelled her to do, say, feel, or remember whatever I wanted. At the dinner you walked in on Stefan being mad at me for feeding off Caroline and compelling her into liking it."

"Your house arrest?"

"Yeah, all vampires have a weakness. Stefan spiked Caroline's glass with it and the it hit me when I drank her blood. I was pretty much a limp vampire for the last three days. Yesterday I was finally strong enough to compel Caroline to come free me."

Addie was chewing vigorously on the inside of her cheek. This was information overload. "And I'm guessing you can't feed on her anymore so now what?"

"Well, it took me a group of teenagers last night and Vickie today to regain my strength," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Because humans are whatever you want them to be," Addie recalled his words. "Their lives didn't matter to you."

"They were a bunch of druggies going nowhere," Damon countered, as if this made it slightly less criminal.

"That's how my delinquent brother looks now but he's turning his life around!" Addie couldn't help but shout at Damon. If Vickie had been there Jeremy likely had been too but she knew he was safe at home.

"They weren't!" Damon yelled back, suddenly feeling as if he had to justify himself. He could see why she was so pissed off.

"And now they won't get a chance to because you decided that for them, Damon. Just like you tried to decide for me," Addie spat.

"Vickie will. She's not dead, Addie," Damon said urgently, trying to make up any credit he had built with.

Addie shook her head violently, "No. No. I checked. That, that is a corpse. She is dead. You killed her."

"I killed her with my blood in her system. If you die with a vampire's blood in your system you being the transition. Soon she'll wake up and once she has human blood she'll be a vampire."

"Oh! Oh! Well, isn't that just fucking great?! My sister in love with a vampire! My brother is in love with a soon-to-be vampire! And I'm trapped in a room with the most lethal of all three vampires!" Addie couldn't help but laugh. "You see how fucked up all of this sounds?! Nice parlor trick with the fangs. You and your brother better just stay away from my family."

Addie, with a renewed sense of courage by knowing how fake this all was headed for the front door. She was just about to grab the knob when Damon instantaneously appeared before her.

"Super speed," he said simply to her confused face. Then he compelled her for the second time, "You know that Stefan and I are vampires. You going to go home think about everything that has happened since you came here and you will believe in vampires. I'm sorry you made me do this."

* * *

**A/N: I love you guys! Watching the numbers go up is amazing. Thank you all for reading. What do you guys think about Damon compelling Addie again? Particularly about the supernatural world! Is this good and the only way to get through to her or was it a huge mistake? What do you think will happen next between the pair? Will the Halloween party change **** everything or is it another point that is defining for Damon and Addie? **


	5. Chapter 8

Addie made a quick sandwich of peanut butter and pickles before she went back out and biked around Mystic Falls for awhile after visiting Damon in attempts to clear her head. The idea of vampires was just nonsense; simply nonsense. A quick stop at the library and a look at the historic records did show there was a Damon Salvatore and a Stefan Salvatore at the founding ceremony of Mystic Falls. All Addie needed to prove that this complete idea was a complete bust and just Damon trying to screw with her was a trip to the old cemetery to look for their graves. Even then that moron was still probably mocking her as his ancestors may have been buried elsewhere. Still, with the idea that it would be a comfort, Addie headed to the old cemetery. But deep down, she knew she wouldn't find any graves. Stefan and Damon were vampires.

"Sheriff Forbes, is everything ok?" Addie inquired with concern, pulling herself off her bike and walking next to it. The entrance was closed of with police crime scene tape and there were a couple of squad cars, some unmarked cars and even a news van.

The sheriff broke away from the group that she was conversing with and headed over to Addie, leading her a good ten feet away from the group. "Hey, sweetheart. You shouldn't be all the way out here by yourself; it's not safe."

Addie couldn't agree more but it was rare that Sheriff Forbes ever took on such a sweet and motherly tone, "Well, it's just kind of on the way to the cemetery and I was going to visit my parents," Addie lied with a practiced ease. Her family didn't see her as perfect but that didn't mean she hadn't conned other adults and teachers into thinking it. "Besides, it's Mystic Falls; nothing ever happens here."

A dark look crossed the sheriff's face, "Oh, Addie, I hate to be the one to tell you but I'm sure you'll hear it on tonight's news. Three teenagers were murdered in the old cemetery last night. While it looks like a drug deal gone bad, I still want you to be extremely careful. Mystic Falls use to be a safe little haven but until we clean up this drug mess, I don't want you, Jeremey, or any of the other girls out alone, especially after dark. I know you guys aren't mixed up in drugs but that doesn't mean you might not be an innocent victim."

"Of course, Mrs. Forbes. I'll pass your concern on to the others," Addie nodded reverently, eager to escape the motherly stance. Seeing the tough woman she admired go soft unnerved her though what bothered her more was that she was obviously lying about something.

"Good," nodded the sheriff. "Why don't you head home before it gets dark out."

* * *

Addie walked into the kitchen from stowing her bike in the garage just as Jeremy and Elena were picking up dishes from dinner.

"I don't know what's wrong with her," cried Jeremy, distress clear in his voice.

"What's wrong with who?" Addie asked over her shoulder, shoving her hands under the running tap and lathering them up. Something about being around Damon and the cemetery just made her feel gross.

"It's Vickie," Jeremy sighed, slumping into a chair. "She's freaking out like she's on a really bad trip."

Addie felt her heart stop for a moment. She had just seen Vickie dead hours ago. Vickie was dead; there was no more freaking out on bad trips for her. "Like how?" she voiced softly, slowly wringing the dishtowel over and through her hands.

"Look," Elena butted in, holding her hands up and signalling for her younger siblings to stop overthinking this before they came too close to the truth, "She'll be fine. It'll all be fine."

Addie pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation, "And how do you know that?" Addie had just seen Vickie's corpse on the Salvatore. Corpses don't just get up and move around and everything is just magically ok.

Elena crossed her arms and gave her sister a stony glare but was spared from answering by the ring of the doorbell. All three Gilbert children rushed to the door; Elena got there first but Addie and Jeremy crowded in behind her. Elena gasped when she opened it a bit and saw who it was and then tried to shut it again but a simple push from the knocker had it open.

"Jeremy, Addie, go upstairs," Elena breathed out, slightly out of breath from the force she put into closing the door and fear.

Addie was relieved to see that Jeremy had gone upstairs but she had no intention of leaving her sister alone with _Damon._ He had been in possession of a corpse that was now apparently on a bad acid trip. She couldn't rationalize that he was joking about being a vampire but somehow that didn't matter. He was what he was and what mattered was that he was dangerous. Addie reflexively grabbed the back of Elena's jacket, trying to pull her away from the threat.

Damon waggled his eyebrows cockily at Addie before putting on a smug grin and addressing Elena. "You're afraid of me. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess. Stefan finally fessed up."

"Stay away from me," Elena responded tightly, fear causing a slight tremble in her voice.

"Hey, there's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for Stefan." Damon meant to continue but was abruptly cut off by Addie.

"You can walk around like a soulless, living dead thing that blends into society so why is Vickie drawing all kinds of attention? My brother knows something is wrong."

"May I come in?" Damon asked Elena, who was still standing in front of the door. "Oh, of course I can. I've been invited in."

"Do you have to be a taunting ass? First off, you do whatever you want and secondly, if legends about being invited in are true, you've already been invited in and you've made it clear to me several times that we can't stop you," Addie answered defiantly, crossing her arms in front of her.

Elena's mouth flop open and shut like a fish as she looked at her sister, "How long have you known about this?"

"You mean that he's a psychotic, antisocial, sociopath? I've known that since I met him. That he's a vampire? Since a few hours ago. Though I will admit I kind of thought you were going crazy when you said Stefan was in your diary when I read it the other day. I'm guessing that kind of goes with the dark, distrustful sense I get from both Salvatores, you know, the whole vampire thing. Of course, I haven't ruled out that Damon's also a very special psychotic, antisocial - " Addie rambled on, her eyes never leaving Damon as he slid into the house around Elena.

"Stefan's not like that," Elena butted in defensively. "And how did you know where my diary was? How could you even invade my privacy by reading that?

Addie shook her head sadly, "God, Elena. Vampire equals bad. You've been sucked in by the whole allure. If you actually gave a damn about anyone but yourself, maybe I wouldn't have to snoop in order to check up on you. I mean obviously you're too damn naive, thinking you could date a _vampire._"

"I do care about other people but you make it almost impossible to put up and care about you with all your moodiness and invasion of my privacy!"

Addie rolled her eyes, shifting her weight to one hip. It was just like Elena to be over dramatic. "I've read your diary since you started keeping them. You never knew so it's not like I'm out telling people. _You_ tried to have Aunt Jenna put me in a mental institute after the crash!" She held her hand up as she saw Elena meant to interrupt her. "Don't deny it. I read it in your diary. Putting me in a hospital behind my back and against my wishes because I'm depressed that my fucking sister is the reason my parents are dead? That's an evasion of privacy."

"This is revolting," scowled Damon. "Can't you settle this with a few punches and be done with it? The blah, buh-blah, buh-blah is just disgusting."

"Oh yes because violence is the perfect answer to a great sibling relationship. Your relationship with Stefan is so grand that I should obviously take your advice," Addie snapped at Damon, jabbing her finger in his chest she meant to emphasis him.

Elena looked on, tempted to pull away her sister from the dark haired vampire but there was some kind of storm in his icy blue eyes that warned her not to. Plus, that jab about it being her fault their parents were dead was pretty low. If Damon did something to Addie, Elena would just simply chalk it up to karma being a bitch. She knew she was thinking in rage but Addie was being a brat; invading her privacy, insulting Stefan, insulting her.

Damon curled Addie's index finger in with the rest of her hand and covered it with his; his large hand engulfed her small fist. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, making sure Elena couldn't hear and even murmured where she couldn't read his lips. "I've never lied to you. I assure you if Elena did to you what Stefan did to me, you'd agree about why the way we are. A girl comes and goes; there are some betrayals that can never be removed or reversed."

Addie's cerulean eyes narrowed as she tried to decipher Damon's cryptic message. Based on the little she knew, if she had to name one as more moral it would be Stefan but Damon didn't seem like the type to hold a grudge over something petty.

Damon drew back up to his full height and looked squarely at Elena, "We can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not going to kill you… right now. It wouldn't serve my greater agenda."

"Damon!" Addie shrieked, yanking her hand out from under his fingers curled over hers.

The vampire spared her a quick glance, "I won't kill you right now either, geesh. You're my little Ads. I want to see how you turn out." He ruffled her in a roguish manner.

Addie swatted at Damon's hand, "This isn't some game Damon. I believe I said I wanted you and your brother to stay away from my family."

Damon refocused his attention on Elena; Addie was more fun when there weren't serious matters at hand. "So… Where's Stefan?"

"He's out looking for Vickie," Elena said stiffly, knowing this was all Damon's fault.

"Don't look at me with those judgy little eyes. Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her," Damon shrugged smugly, advancing on Elena and using his height to try and intimidate her.

Elena was quick to fire back, "Did you thank Katherine?"

Addie's eyes flashed back and forth between Damon and Elena. So it was true that Katherine had toyed with the brothers and seemed to have a hand in turning them into vampires. She was still such a bitter subject between them that Addie couldn't help but wonder where she was now.

"Mmm," Damon turned from Elena and walked to the opening of the living room. Addie could see a fire in his eyes of ice as he looked around absentmindedly. "Got the whole life story, huh?"

"I got enough," Elena said. Addie recognized that voice. It was the voice she used when she threatened to expose some trouble Addie or Jeremy made to her parents but was really bluffing because it would mean she would be in even greater trouble.

"Oh, I doubt that. Tell my brother I'm looking for him," Damon called over his shoulder as he went through the door. Just as it was almost shut he stuck his head back in and looked at the sisters, "Oh, tip for later, be careful who you invite into the house."

* * *

Addie laid tossing and turning that evening. Vickie had been in the house after she had been bitten by Damon but Stefan said she was transitioning. Did that mean she had been invited in by Jeremy then and she could come back and hurt him at any time or was she not fully a vampire so she could still enter a house uninvited. Addie paced around her room with pent up anxiety and anger. She wanted the damn vampires gone. She wanted Jeremy to stop worrying about a girl who was nothing but trouble and now wanted to rip his throat out. The only good thing was that she had overheard Elena basically dump Stefan.

If vampires were real, who was to say the rest of all the monsters of the night weren't? The thought sent a terrifying shiver down Addie's spine. Elena and some of her friends had been watching a scary show when Addie was about 4 and even though it was meant for kids, the plotline of ghost sending things flying through rooms, giving one of the children a broken arm, left Addie traumatized to the supernatural. She had shared a bed with Jeremy for two weeks, sleeping with the lights on, after she watched a movie about a dark cult and evil spirits because Caroline started calling her a baby for not wanting to watch it.

Glancing at the clock to make sure it wasn't too late, she dialed the only person who might not think she was crazy and could possibly lead her to answers.

"Addison May Gilbert is actually using a cellphone to make a phone call?" came a chipper, almost laughing voice from the other end of the line.

Addie reflexively smiled at the sound of Bonnie's voice, "Hey Bon. Are you busy?"

"Yes, actually," sighed Bonnie. "I am extremely busy with this stupid physics homework so please, please, please save me from it!"

"Well," Addie gave a nervous laugh, "I can give you another topic to think about but I don't know if it is a salvation or damnation. It's just, I don't know where else to turn to and thought that maybe you could help me. Not that I don't love talking to you anyways!"

Bonnie laughed, "Relax, Ad. What can I do for you?"

Addie raked a hand nervously through her hair as she laid propped up on one elbow, "Please Bonnie, this is really important and I need you to be completely honest with me."

There was a poignant silence on the phone before Bonnie tried to break it with a tense laugh, "Geesh, Add, you're using your serious; it's kind of freaking me out."

"I'm more than a little freaked out," Addie admitted softly. "Bonnie, do you really believe you're a witch?"

"Does this conversation stay between us?" Bonnie asked hesitantly.

"Of course!" Addie jumped. She definitely didn't want anyone knowing that vampires roamed the town. Something told her that a lot of people would die before Damon and Stefan would be taken down.

"In that case, I guess I do. It's the only thing that makes any sort of sense. Things have been happening that I can't explain. I made the waterhouse go crazy on Kiki because she was being a bitch at the sexy suds carwash. And I know it's crazy but Mrs. Lightwood was chewing out this servant because the candles weren't lit in the room and for some reason I tried to light one with my mind. It didn't light at first and I left the room but for some reason I turned around and looked back in and _all_ the candles in the room were lit. You can explain away the visions and stuff as coincidences but those things… I know you don't believe in magic but that's all I can call it," Bonnie trailed off weakly, afraid that Addie would mock her.

Addie starred where a streak of neon green intersected with with a splash of aqua until her eyes blurred; she didn't exactly know how to react to the fact that Bonnie actually had _active_ powers. "You wouldn't believe what I believe in now, Bon. You lighting up a room full of candles sounds pretty close to amazing. Have you talked to your grams about this?"

"Not yet," Bonnie hesitated, "I know I need to but I'm kind of scared to. Like I said before, I don't want to be a witch."

"Well, think of it this way: if you train up your powers and learn how to control them you'll never have to take one of those self-defense classes they are always pushing on college campuses. Maybe you'll learn to cook up Love Potion #9. Who knows? Being a witch could be useful, even if it isn't fun. One thing though is that it is important that you get control of whatever it is you can do before it gets control of you. Both of those things you mentioned happened when you were upset. I'm betting your powers are only going to get stronger and one day you might get really angry and someone might just get hurt," Addie tried to maneuver Bonnie into the direction she was thinking. She closed her eyes, rolled on her back, then opened her eyes to quickly hone in on the first glowing star on her ceiling and wished that her plan would work. Addie wasn't one to believe in wishes and knew she was suppose to wish on a real star but in a world where vampires and witches existed, she wasn't putting any limitations on the universe.

Bonnie sighed heavily, getting out of her desk chair and smothering her face in a pillow on her bed, the phone still next to her ear. "I have to go see Grams. Soon. Tomorrow."

"That sounds like a good idea," Addie pretended to muse, secretly excited that so far her plan was working. "Hey," Addie said, as if she suddenly realized something, "does your grams still teach that occult studies class at Whitmore?"

"Yeah," Bonnie mumbled distracted.

"Do you think maybe you could get her office hours so I could go and talk to her some time?" Addie inquired, trying not to sound too eager.

Bonnie's voice was the eager one when she responded, "Yeah, of course. In fact, why don't you come with me to visit her before school tomorrow?"

Addie could feel the sly, smug smile of a manipulation perfectly executed on her face, "That's a great idea."

* * *

**A/N: Well, everyone, I have a plan and a plot that I personally love for this story but I spent five months writing and revising and editing and slaving over the first 50k words only to hand it in and be told it is "one of the most appalling, ridiculous, and tedious pieces of the year" by my professor/tutor (depending on where you live in the world). I'm inclined to agree with him as nobody is commenting and peer feedback was essentially nonexistent. If you guys want more you'l have to comment. If you just want a crappy outline of what happens you can message me. With that, I hope you have kind of enjoyed this. **


	6. Chapter 9

Addie sat up in the attic, fingers hovering over a Steinway baby grand piano. All the Gilbert children had their outlets for expressing themselves or a way to clear their heads when something confused them. Jeremy did art and Elena wrote. Addie way was to be a one woman band. It all started when she basically stole the mini drumset Jeremy got for his fifth birthday; by eight she was taking piano lessons; at eleven she taught herself the electric bass. The guitar was an instrument for the cliche, so she avoided that. Otherwise, she could fill any crucial role in a band and that was her claim to a talent. In fact, if she thought about it, with a few good sound patches, and a good MIDI program she could convert her 88-key keyboard into a transmitter and she could make her piano sound just like a guitar.

By her twelfth birthday everyone in the house got so annoyed when Addie crashed the rims of symbols or started tickling the ivories at 2AM that as a gift to the family, her father had made the attic then Addie had acquired a decent pair of speakers, a full drum mic-ing kit, a 16 channel mixer, three good condenser microphones, an antique carbon microphone and two prized SHURE SM57 &amp; SM58.

Tonight Addie was trying to figure out the enigma that was Damon Salvatore. His actions over the past weeks had began to really confuse her. She found herself thinking about him more and more often and his moral character. She didn't know why she cared so much; the only thing that she kept returning to was how he had let her live that night and he even let her repeatedly bash his face in. Addie turned to the place she usually found answers: music.

A C major chord meant something positive about Damon while an E minor meant he was indeed the monster he portrayed.

_C major_

"_Can you believe Caroline was just going to rip this crystal right from my neck?" Bonnie muttered disgustedly to Addie as they stood in the crowd of Caroline's impromptu party._

_Addie bit her lip before letting the words she was thinking spew forward. Caroline was selfish and it wasn't that surprising; she seen her turn rabid on Black Friday snatching bargain cashmere sweaters from little old ladies. She decided to comment on a safer subject. "I can't believe it shocked her. It did the same thing to Damon on Halloween. Guess your grams was right when she said it was your tailism. I wonder…"_

_Intrigued by this strange new world she had uncovered, Addie reached forward and touched the amber stone that lay around Bonnie's neck. She was surprised when it didn't shock her. Bonnie's wide, dark eyes suggested she thought the same. _

"_I guess it protects you from those with malicious intent," Addie surmised. _

_Bonnie shook her head, "That not Caroline."_

"_You just said she was going to rip it from your neck; I'd consider theft kind of malicious."_

_Bonnie shrugged, not wanting to think ill of one of her best friends. "It's really Damon who wants it. I wonder why though."_

_Addie sighed, focusing on swirling the soda in her glass, "I've learned it's a lot less tiring to just accept what Damon does instead of trying to find reason in it."_

_Addie didn't hear Bonnie's response as she noticed their topic of conversation walking through the crowd. She had been with Bonnie Halloween night, completely unaware of the events that had transpired leading to the final death of Vickie. By the time she had arrived home Jeremy was asleep, Elena cleaned up and there was no trace of vampires. The only reason she knew about that night and that Damon had compelled Jeremy to forget what happened was because she read Elena's diary a few days later. _

"_Ill be right back, Bon," Addie said distractedly, not waiting for the other girl to respond._

_The smell of alcohol, sweat, and overused perfume and cologne assaulted her as she pushed and excused her way around people in attempt to make a direct path to a moving Damon. He was nearly to the bar when she managed to poke him three times in side. He wasn't ticklish ash she had hoped but it did catch him off guard._

"_Hey," he scowled with an intimidating voice as he turned to stare at her. "You could have made me spill my drink. That would have been a very stupid move and I know my little Ads isn't stupid. Don't try and sneak up on me."_

_Addie tilted her head to the side and looked up in wonder, "I don't know why people think I'm smart. Smart people wouldn't willingly approach you."_

"_Of course they would!" beamed Damon. "I'm such a charmer." _

"_Yeah a charming asshole. Speaking of assholes, what did you do to my brother?" Addie demanded, blocking Damon's path as he tried to walk away to the bar. _

"_Don't know what you're talking about," he simply shrugged, looking bored. _

"_Oh, come on. Give me some credit. You didn't think gushy, emotional Elena would write about that in her diary and me being the protective sister I am wouldn't read about it?" exasperation laced Addi's voice. _

_Damon fought the smile that played at his lips and narrowed his blue eyes, "Exactly how is intruding on someone's private thoughts being protective?"_

"_I wouldn't have found out my sister obviously has a death wish by running around with vampires," Addie defensively countered. "Besides, I doubt you're in any place to judge me. I'm sure you've read the diaries Stefan's kept."_

"_Oh, how I wish I hadn't. They really are such a bore. Except for the 20s; those are interesting," Damon smirked slyly, taunting Addie to ask what they were about. But she wasn't about to play his games. _

"_Right. Sure. Back to _my _brother. What exactly do to him when you compelled him?"_

"_Elena wanted me to take away his memories of fangs and rawr and all the bad stuff. She wanted me to take away his suffering," Damon said simply. _

"_He's acting strange. He's not drinking, doing drugs and the scariest thing is that he's actually doing his homework. He's acting ok, even normal," Addie hesitated on the last word. _

_Damon's free hand came up around Addie's upper bare arm, his thumb stroking back and forth lightly over her shoulder. Addie felt her cheeks flare red. This was Damon, psychotic, serial killing Damon. Who she had thought was kind of cute the moment she met him. Ok, really cute. Of course nothing would come of it as he was a blood sucking leech but her stupid teenage hormones didn't seem to care. She hardly ever wore anything sleeveless! Why had she picked today of all days to go punk-rockish with an old Blink-182 tank top? If only his touch was like water to the Wicked Witch of the West and she could just disintegrate out of her humiliation. _

_Damon continued stroking her shoulder for a few moments, waiting for her to look at him. Somehow, when she blushed, she looked older and -. He slammed that thought down with the last swig of bourbon from his glass. _Barely 14; over 10 years younger than the age you're frozen at. Fourteen today is not acceptable for a man your age in these times; it's not 1864.

"_Addie," Damon said firmly in a voice that commanded she look at him. It took a good ten seconds before she would look him in the eye. "I took away his suffering."_

_Her darker blue eyes searched his lighter ones briefly before she shocked both of them. Swiftly, before she lost the courage, she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and leant her lead against his chest. Frozen in shock for a moment, Damon eventually wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave a squeeze._

"_Thank you, Damon," she said softly, before beginning to pull away. _

_Quickly he placed a kiss to the top of her head and murmured, "Anything for my Ads."_

_Both quickly departed in opposite directions with hopes the other couldn't see the red in their cheeks._

**E Minor**

**Despite having seen her sister arrive moments ago, Addie headed back to her companion for the evening to let Bonnie know she would be returning home. Addie didn't think she could take another minute in the bar and grill without all the blood vessels in her face bursting. With Bonnie calling her a "Cheery Cherry Tomato" and Addie defensively quipping back that she was an "Overly Alliterative Snooty Witch" Addie made her way out, not noticing Damon had walked out just seconds before.**

**Addie turned right, leaving the grill. She heard a terrible noise and dark movements flashed in her peripheral vision. The shrill shriek of a girls voice rang high in the night. By the time Addie's eyes had focused on the scene, the hands of the boy she had been with were slowly, limply falling from her waist. The boy jerked back and forth like a ragdoll as, could she possibly be seeing this right? As someone seemed to be gnawing into his neck like a dog with a succulent bone. Then the boy dropped to the ground. A dark substance quickly flowed out from his neck. Addie didn't need to be any closer to know that he was dead.**

**The girl continued to scream but Addie's attention was drawn to the cannibalistic monster that could have possibly done this. His head was down, looking at the boy for a moment before his head turned to the girl. Then there was silence; the attacker's hand was wrapped around the girl's throat. Addie's mind was telling her to run down there and tackle him or something before he could hurt her but she was frozen in fear. What could she honestly do against someone who had just ripped another's throat out with their bare teeth?**

**Slowly, the figure released her and pulled his shoulders back and thanks from the many episodes of **_**America's Next Top Model **_**her mother and Elena made her endure she could tell by the way the fabric moved he was wearing a leather jacket. At least Addie assumed it was a he as the dim overhead lights fell on a head of tousled, raven hair that was in style for many guys at the time. The broadness of his shoulders and lack of defining curves also suggested his masculinity. **

**The figure turned around and began to ascend the steps. Her brain was shouting for any muscle to move but her nervous system wasn't listening; even her heart refused to pump as she caught her first clear view of the assailant. Two steps from the top of the stairs she saw the two streaks of blood dripping from the side of his mouth and all his teeth stained with blood as he flashed her a toothy, smug grin, making sure to see his sharp descended fangs. He gave her a two finger wave as he made to pass by her but she caught him by the crook of elbow.**

**She could almost taste the annoyance that resonated off him as he turned to face her. Addie's mind had flashed back to the day they first met and the anger she had felt towards him when he regarded life with such disdain. That same anger ensnared her voice as she spoke to him darkly, catching his eye just so he could see how much she hated him. "You've got a little something around your mouth."**

**The eyes that bore back into her were cold and unfeeling, "Jealous? I'd be more than willing to let your blood grace my lips." Damon quickly licked his lips as if to accentuate his point before yanking his arm back. "Go home before it's too late, Addison," he spat. **

**Addie watched as he wiped the blood from his face and entered the Mystic Grill. She fumbled in her pocket for her phone and clumsily dialed 9-1-1, her eyes never leaving the crying girl in a heap against the wall. She wanted to comfort her but she could smell the boy's blood from here and it was making her nauseous. She gave the operator details of where to find the body before running home. **

**That was the good thing about her Converse All Stars; they were always ready for a run when she need to escape everything. **

**She later read in Elena's diary that Damon had staked Stefan's vampire friend Lexi for the attack, impressing Sheriff Forbes. **

_C Major_

_Addie sat in the booth next to Jeremy as he told Aunt Jenna and her about the extra credit assignment the new history teacher was letting him do to make up for his troubled phase. The conversation flew around her but processing never seemed to take place. Her mind was too busy with other matters. That afternoon Damon Salvatore had threatened Bonnie over that stupid necklace again. Her fear, triggered by the image of the boy he had killed a week ago and his lazy attitude about it and the subtextual threat he made waged against her protectiveness of her friends, outrage that he could even make her feel such a way, and a nagging curiosity of why he was so damned obsessed about an ugly stone. Tonight was the first time that she had seen him since she watched him kill needlessly over a week ago and she was too distracted by his presence at the bar to do anything more than push around the garlic roasted potatoes and glare at the back of his raven hair. _

_After the better part of half an hour, her curiosity and anger outweighed her self-preservation and so she excused herself to go to the restroom but instead made her way to the bar. Addie knew Jeremy was watching her and would give her the tenth degree later but she could handle him; she was just grateful Aunt Jenna's back was to her. _

"_Damon," she said coolly, sitting in the barstool next to where he stood leaning over the bar. At least now she would be at eye level with him instead of feeling inferior by having to look up to him. _

"_Addie," he replied just as coolly, taking another drink of the strong smelling alcohol. It pissed Addie off even more that he hadn't at least acknowledge she was physically right next to him. _

_Addie gritted her teeth and tried to make her voice seem off handed and friendly but she knew it was still only lukewarm and tearing at the seems with anger and frustration. "Bonnie told me you two had a little incident today in the parking lot at school."_

"_Hardly," Damon scoffed, finally turning to look at her, "it was more of check-in to make sure my crystal was in good hands and a request to pass-a-long a message."_

"_I wouldn't bother lying, Damon. I heard the tale straight from Bonnie and given that she hates you just as much as I do," at that Damon smirked wickedly as he took a sip, which made Addie continue in a voice hard and tight with accusing embarrassment, "I'm more inclined to believe her than you."_

"_Are _you _accusing _me _of lying? Are you sure that's a wise move?" he prodded with a grin, teeth sparkling white in contrast to the bloodstained smiled he had last given her. This one was no less threatening. _

_Addie laid her hand flat on the slightly scummy bar top and sat up straighter, making her slightly higher than him and making her feel a little more powerful, "Remember the first night we met? You told me to _take control of my life _and that includes getting my head our of my ass and being concerned about my best friends. So, leave Bonnie alone."_

"_Sure," Damon nodded, sounding as if this was completely reasonable, "just as soon as I get my crystal back."_

"_You mean Katherine's necklace?" Addie mused, eyeing the bottles behind the counter as if this didn't interest her. She had just gotten the message from Elena right before heading over. _

_Damon squeezed into the small space between Addie being seated and the bar and rested his weight on his elbows which land on the bar, one next to the hand Addie had dropped to gain confidence. "Who told you that?"_

"_So, it's true?" Addie said, her eyes going wide._

"_No," Damon responded too quickly, sounding a little unnerved for the first time._

"_Um, you basically just confirmed it was by getting that murderous look in your eye when you asked who told me," pointed Addie, leaning back on the backless stool. Damon was just in a little too much of her personal space. "So, why are you so obsessed with it?"_

_Damon scrutinized her for several long seconds. He had almost killed her; she knew he was a vampire; she had seen him kill; yet she was still right in front of him. He had been dying, again, to tell someone of his master plan; he could at least tell her a snippet. _

"_Like you said, it's Katherine's. What connection does Bonnie have to Katherine? Why should she have it?" Damon shrugged. He wasn't going to make getting the truth that easy. _

_Addie looked at him skeptically, her eyebrows arched, "So, you are threatening my best friend and sending messages to an 150 year old witch who is haunting her because you want this stone back for sentimental reasons?"_

"_Of course not. You're thinking of the brother with hero hair that walks on a moral plane that even God can't fathom. Do I look like Stefan to you?" Damon said, running a hand through his tousled hair and giving a wicked half smile. _

_Tapping her chin in thought she took appraisal of him and lied, "No, Stefan is much cuter."_

_Damon shrugged and smirked, "I took all the sexy and left him the cute."_

"_Are you really so arrogant?" she sighed with exasperation. _

_Smirking, Damon leaned with just his back against the bar and settled his hands over Addie's slight waist and gave her a smouldering look, "Is it really being arrogant if it's true?"_

_Addie shook her beet red face and pushed Damon's hands off her, "You're an ass. If you don't want it for sentimental reasons, why do you want the crystal?"_

"_Aww, back to that?" Damon pouted. Not earning a reaction from Addie he leaned closer to her and whispered conspiratorially, "Can you keep a secret?"_

_Feeling a sudden burst of boldness and perhaps stupidity she leaned in towards Damon's ear and said ever so softly, "Have I gone through the town screaming 'vampire' yet?" She pulled back and was satisfied to see the tiniest hint of color in Damon's cheeks, if she squinted her eyes. It was nice to know she wasn't the only one who could get their cage rattled. _

"_I suppose not," he smirked, radiating conceit as if it was under his command she hadn't said anything. "Well," he said quieter, "That ghost haunting your witchy friend, she made me a promise. Katherine is still alive but she's been trapped under the old church for 150 years. It's been so long because I needed the comet but I obviously didn't have the crystal. But I think I've found another way to free her. But I still need that precious amber stone to free her. Now you know my deep dark secret, you know why I'm in town and what my master plan is." Addie opened her mouth but Damon quickly put a finger to her lips to quiet her. "If you talk about it, I'll have to kill you."_

_Addie searched his face for a tell that he was kidding but couldn't find one; either he was serious or he made one hell of a poker player.. She'd try calling a tiny bluff. Addie yanked her head back and swatted Damon's finger out of her face. _

"_You have no idea how hard it is not to laugh in your face right now." That slapped Damon in the face harder than her hand could have based on the way his jaw unhinged. The shock quickly turned dangerous but Addie pushed on. "You call Stefan the sentimental one yet you've been in love with the same girl for 150 years and are acting in-fucking-sane to get her back. Unless stabbing your brother's best friend in the chest is just for fun. Speaking of your brother, your jealous, possessive mind has let him believe that the girl he loved is dead. You're just a giant box of Fruit Loops, Damon! _

_That stone shocks anyone who tries to take it for you because what you're doing is stupid. It's stupid! Reason one: move on. Reason two: she toyed with you and your brother at the same time; how much more romantically evil can a person be? Reason three: if _you _loved her, she's probably as insanely dangerous as you and you've already done enough damage here.. We don't need anymore of your kind. Reason four: I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm sort of handling the idea of your bunny eating brother in my sister's life and he makes her happy and I don't want his ex-love coming back and possibly screwing up with that happiness."_

_Damon's leather clad arms were crossed in front of him, almost brushing against Addie given how close he was had been years since he spoke with such maliciousness "You do realize I could kill you in less than a heartbeat."_

"_I know" Addie sighed dramatically before perking up add chipperly adding, "but then who would you tell your secrets to? Who would be there to tell you that you're being stupid?"_

_Addie didn't spy the calculating look in Damon's eyes. "Ads," he implored, he took her hand and insisted more fiercely, "Ads, look at me. Good. I'm showing faith in you. I'm trusting you."_

"_And you don't normally do that so I'm suppose to go all doe-eyed and keep your secret?" Addie suggested._

_Damon smiled slightly, "No, actually. You're suppose to believe me when I tell you this isn't stupid and I offer you my help."_

"_How is this _not _stupid, Damon?" she questioned incredulously. "And how could you possibly help me?"_

_Damon pursed his lips, suddenly wondering if this was the best course of action. Damon hesitated, choosing his words carefully, "I think Emily Bennett, the ghost haunting Bonnie, put a spell on the stone so that I can't retrieve the stone if her spirit thinks reawakening Katherine would release consequences. That's why I was zapped and so was Caroline. The thing is, nothing bad is going to happen. I'm going to wake Katherine just enough so I can move her to someplace far from her. Do you think I want Stefan around her and have history repeat? Give me some credit. And you've seen how righteous Stefan is; give him some credit that he wouldn't love someone as perfectly destructive as me. He likes good girls, if you haven't noticed. _

"_I propose that you help me get the stone and make this world a better place. You said Bonnie woke-up at the old church? That was Emily leading her there. The longer Bonnie wears that necklaces the stronger her bond is with Emily. Soon, Emily will be able to possess her and she is very powerful and may never leave Bonnie. You get the necklace, you keep your friend and this town gets rid of me."_

_Addie thought about it for a moment. In Addie's opinion the ghost threatening Bonnie had to go but she knew Bonnie would care more about others than herself. "No. I'd just be setting another one of you free to kill."_

"_Katherine's not like that," Damon pleaded, squeezing the hand he still held. "Snatch. Eat. Earse. No one remembers a thing. No one really gets hurt. That's Katherine's way. She doesn't like to draw attention to herself. _

_People were still being used. No, she'd agree for only one other thing. "Sweeten the deal."_

_Damon scowled but quickly neutralized his face. He knew what she wanted but that didn't mean he'd have to like letting her think she got the better of him. "And that's how I'll be. Snatch. Eat. Erase. You don't understand yet but that's just how love is; it makes you want to be a better person. It makes you want to be worthy of the person you're with."_

_Here Damon was offering her a chance to save her best friend and, indirectly, all the lives of his future victims and all he was asking for was love. It was unexpected, perplexing, appealing and, in a disturbingly odd way, sweet._

**E Minor**

**Jeremy and Addie collided with Caroline and Elena as they came back from the Mystic Grill; Aunt Jenna stayed behind to flirt with the new history teacher. The two girls were frantic though Jeremy chucked it up to them being strange creatures that were never meant to be understood by man, Addie notice the third member of the nightmare slumber party she passed on was missing. **

"**Where's Bonnie?" she quickly asked her sister, who was talking into her phone. **

**Elena held the device with a trembling hand, "Emily is possessing her. She said something?"**

"**What?" Addie accused Elena as if this was her fault. "What did she say?"**

**The person on the other line, obviously Stefan, must have asked the same thing since Elena was considering her as invisible, intentionally turning from her.**

"**She said 'I won't let him have it. It must be destroyed." And then she just left."**

**Pieces clicked as fast as lighting as Addie shot a text message to Damon. **_**Bonnie possessed. Left house. Going to destroy at Fell's Church?**_

**Damon read the text as he overheard Elena thinking about where Bonnie Bennett was at with his damn crystal. By the time she came up with an answer, he was halfway to Fell's Church thanks to Addie's warning. What he'd do against a powerful witch spirit he had no idea. **

**Elena didn't even seem to notice Addie slip into the passenger seat of the car. Before her sister brought her car to a complete halt, Addie had jumped out and was running through the graveyard towards the old church. Elena was eventually following her. Jeremy and Addie had climbed the ruins and tried to scare each other with horror stories when they were younger so she knew exactly how to find the old church but as far as she knew, Elena had never been to the ruins. **

"**What do we do?" she asked Damon frantically as Stefan worked to free him from the tree that impaled him.**

"**Ow. It hurts. This is why I feed on people. I'm not doing your damn bunny diet anymore. Repentance done," Damon snarled at his brother, focusing on inflicting pain to distract from his.**

"**Stefan," said Bonnie, but her voice was way too mellow and polite to be Addie's Bonnie. She was hold a long stick that she had been drawing in the dirt with.**

"**How do we get her out of her?" Addie whispered to Damon, helping him up, seemingly unnoticed. **

"**Hello, Emily," Stefan responded cautiously. **

**Emily's attention was directed towards Damon, "These people don't deserve this. The should never have to know such evil."**

"**What do you mean evil?" Stefan encouraged.**

**Addie rolled her eyes. A vampire, duh. Bloodsucking leech. King of the food chain. Evil. What he, himself was. She briefly wondered if a spirit could be reasoned with but Damon's next words assured her that wouldn't be the course of action. **

"**I swear to God, Ill make you regret this," he hissed. **

"**I won't let you unleash them into this world," condemned the possessed Bonnie.**

**Addie pulled away from Damon, who was still leaning against her, recovering from his staking. She knew his deal was too good to be true. "Your love is awakening Katherine and how many others?" she spat in disgust, mostly at herself for believing him. **

**As she spoke Stefan also questioned, "Them? What part of the story did you leave out, Damon?"**

"**What does it matter?" shrugged Damon in response to his brother, ignoring Addie.**

"**You knew about this?" Addie yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at Stefan. **

"**Literally found out about it right before all this," Stefan deflected, holding his hands up defensively before turning to the Emily/Bonnie possession. "Emily, tell me what you did."**

**Addie could only listen in repulsion and horror as Damon's real plan unfolded. He was **_**sick**_**; whether because he was angry and evil or he was actually mentally unwell she wasn't certain. Damon wanted to unleash 27 vampires or "people" as he called them on the town that tried to kill them. Did he not get that they were killing the villagers? Did he not care that it was 150 years later and the people he was going to punish with this had no fucking clue about what happened? Did he not realize that if people were smart enough to round up a clan of vampires and kill them 150 years ago, if he hadn't interfered, they were probably a lot smarter in the modern age and would have much more effective means of scouting out his kind and killing them; especially if there was bloodshed like he intended. Folks might not have been as superstitious but there were those who would have the family stories passed down and realize what was going on and with the speed of communication the world would soon know. There were rich people with safe houses for a zombie apocalypse and the end of the world that Addie was willing to bet would fund vampire extermination. Just how extensive was the vampire community?**

**Suddenly there was a great shower of bright orange sparks over Bonnie, who was surrounded by a circle of flames licking the air at least six feet high. The sparks faded, the fire died, and in the center stood Bonnie, her chin to her chest. Slowly, she looked up and around her; Addie could see she couldn't remember a thing. **

**A vicious snarling and sucking sound filled the air as Damon was suddenly latched to Bonnie's throat. A yell rang out. Elena's. She must have finally caught up. Addie stumbled back in revulsion, when Stefan was finally able to rip his brother from Bonnie. The way she crumbled to the ground and the blood. Oh, the blood. She was dead. He'd killed her. She wanted to run to Bonnie but all the blood….**

**Seeing Damon just standing by, watching, she picked up the piece of wood Stefan had pulled from Damon. It had splintered into two shards and was very sharp. Pushing down the wave of nausea that struck as she held the object sticky with bloody, she made sure she had a firm grip, her wrist was locked from side to side. This would be just like a backhanded strike like she'd hit Jeremy with countless times. With a bit of an upper cut. **

**Noticing her, but not the object in her hand, Damon looked down at her, a foot in front of him. He looked so lost and almost pathetic. **_**What a load of crap**_**, Addie thought. She cupped her free hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down towards her, making him sort of curve over his lower torso. Throwing as much force as she could behind her arm, Addie swung up, puncturing Damon in the upper right abdominals. With nails digging into the back of his neck, she grounded her teeth and focused on ripping past the layers of skin and fat and muscle. Her grip relax when she had about two inches of the wood in him. It wasn't much but she could see in his face that it hurt and he was caught of guard. **

"**You feel nothing but hate. I have never known how that's felt until now and I will never forget. **

_C Major_

_Damon told Stefan who told Elena about the new vampire._

**E Minor**

**Damon was probably trying to cover his own ass. **

_C Major_

_Damon didn't give a fuck about Addie's opinion and saved Caroline from vampire Logan Fell. _

**E Minor**

**Logan said he knew a way of resurrecting Katherine and that was again Damon's life purpose. **

_C Major_

_He saved Elena and her in their car accident. _

**E Minor**

**His road trip to Georgia**

* * *

A/N: I just want to say a huge thank you to all of you who left feedback. I've decided to post what I have written, though rewriting and editing what I don't like. I'm just gonna take it and try out a few different writing styles, some for the sake of story progression and some because I just feel like it. If it's not your cup of tea, well, I don't hate people who prefer Lipton over Twinnings and I hope you stick around for the next chapter because it will probably have a different flavor. Otherwise, there are many great stories here and I'm sure you'll find something to float your boat. Thanks for sticking around this long guys!


	7. Chapter 10

_Early A/N: On helpful feedback that this chapter is a bit confusing I'm hoping to clear that up real quick. This **BOLD** segment is a direct continuation from the previous chapter; it reflects something Damon did that Addie found bad. It follows the trip to Georgia but ignores everything from just before Elena waking up to her dropping her phone and being taken by Lee because Addie refuses to indulge Damon in his little games. She has no knowledge of what occurs inside of the bar until Damon tells her after. The return to regular font is a return to the present, which we saw in the last chapter, where Addie was dividing up Damon episodes into good and bad by C Major and E Minor, which compose Elanor Rigby. The "present" is the start of "Fool Me Once" where Elena and Bonnie are being held captive by Anna and the tomb is about to be opened. _ Comments help me help you and other readers =). Looking back it would have made better sense as one giant chapter that broke after the trip to Georgia. Maybe on a re-write. Any more confusion PLEASE tell me. There weren't specifics on what was confusing but I am grateful to know something is amiss but I'm just guessing at what.

* * *

Addie flashed back to Elena and her being road napped by Damon.

**The first thing she was aware of was a vibration sensation under her and the sound of a motor. Next was that she was lying on a cushioned bench of some kind but when she tried to extend her legs, she couldn't. Head pounding it took her longer to piece things together than it should have. Car, she was most definitely in a car. That didn't make sense though; Elena crashed the car. There was a guy, he was standing in the middle of the road. She couldn't remember anymore.**

**Pressing a hand to her head, she slowly sat up, keeping her eyes closed tight. She settled a hand on each side of her, trying to make the vertigo vanish. When she felt a little less lightheaded she opened her eyes only to shut them again immediately. **

"**Kill me, now. Please," she moaned, leaning her head on the front seat bench.**

**Damon leaned back and murmured in her ear conspiratorially, "If I did, then rescuing you would have been pointless."**

"**What are you doing, Damon?" grumbled Addie, scooting into the back passenger corner, as far away from him as possible. She didn't trust him or forgive him for what he had done to Bonnie. This was the first time she had seen him since.**

"**I was taking a road trip and your sister and you were damsels in distress about to be somebody's late night snack and figured that if anyone was going to eat you it would be me," Damon explained simply, steering the car with one hand. **

**Addie rested her head back against the car frame, her head still pounding, "That was Logan we almost hit?"**

"**Nope," he glowered. "It was probably whoever turned Logan since Logan was found dead behind a warehouse before you crashed."**

"**Did you kill him?" Addie questioned, trying to keep track of the vampire movement in Mystic Falls. It was getting more disgusting and messy and she hated it.**

"**Didn't kill Logan but Sheriff Forbes thinks I did so we just might have a vigilante in our midst. Of course the more likely option is that who ever turned him realized how much of an ass and a liability he was."**

**Addie groaned, wanting to just go back to the painless, vampireless slumber. "We have at a minimum of three vampires in town, one, scratch that two of whom that don't have a problem turning people, right?"**

"**Wrong," Damon sneered, "I'm not turning people; I'm trying to blend in and keep a low profile."**

"**Uh-huh. So, youre dragging me on your road trip because you want to kill me but why is my sister here? Trying to force some sibling bonding? I swear I'll lock your ass with Stefan in that damn cellar," Addie stewed. **

**Yes, she had joined Elena in the car when she called her all crying and crazed blubbering about how she looked exactly like Katherine but she'd only gone for the ride with her to make sure she didn't go and do something stupid. Addie would deal with her sister on her own terms. Plus, she wasn't sure Damon wouldn't kill her.**

"**Sooooo over dramatic, you are," drawled Damon, a smile tugging at his lips. "I don't have plans to kill you despite the fact that you shoved a stick into me. Consider yourself special; anyone else would have died that instant. And I'd love to see you try and trap two vampires. As for your sister," he turned his head and gave Addie a quick, genuine smile, "give her some credit. She's not the worst company. You have a habit of not giving credit where credit is due."**

**Addie slammed her head back against the door frame over and over, not caring that it added to the pounding in her head. "Damon, if you believe that, I am completely right in giving you no credit. You're being sucked into the false charm that is Elena Gilbert and you will get burned, mark my words. You know, I was curious about what the hell is going on but no. You find my sister more than tolerable and you rip out my best friend's throat; I want nothing to do with you or this or whatever the hell is happening because I know I'm not going to like it and that it is more than likely something stupid. I will have no part in this," Addie fiercely declared, riled up about every aspect of Damon. **

**Addie was true to her word. She remained silent the rest of the ride; ignoring Damon's comments, Elena's fit when she woke up, and all her sister's pestering questions. Why hadn't she grabbed her iPod before getting into the car with Elena? It would make this nightmare so much more bearable. **

* * *

**Damon dragging the sisters to a bar was a complete lack of originality in Addie's opinion. Elena flipped forward the front seat but Addie made no move to get out. **

**Elena rolled her eyes; this was just like Addie. Ever since she could remember, the girl always had to be difficult and always had to be the center of attention. If all eyes weren't on her, she wasn't fucking happy. That was exactly why she blamed Elena for their parents' death in her opinion. Addie didn't want Elena to go to the party because it meant one less person to notice how dramatically unhappy she was or one less person to focus on her as she beat everyone in family game night. Who knew which personality Elena had called her parent's away from but it definitely meant Addie lost half her audience, since she was left with Jenna and Jeremy. For awhile after their death she became the most miserable, darkest person to be around and Elena had suggested sending her to, not quite a mental institution, but a rehabilitation center and Jenna had come very close to agreeing. Then one day she just woke up like a boss; like an actual boss, not in the cool sense. She was back to her normal-ish, bitchy self. Addie was still dark and pessimistic but she didn't seem depressed like she had been for the past few years. Elena had actually had hope they could be close again; back to Addie being her shadow, her mini-me. **

"**Fine, Addison!" Elena snapped, throwing her hands up in frustration. Her sister called **_**her**_ **moody but **_**she **_**was the one with the inconsistent temperament. "Stay in the car and die from a fucking frostbite or dehydration, whatever comes first."**

**With that, Elena slammed the door and headed towards the bar, Damon taking a few quick strides so he was in the lead. And Addie had intended to do just that, knowing she was in no danger. It wasn't that cold in Georgia this early in December and dehydration would take way longer than they would be inside. However, it didn't mean she wasn't shivering her ass off bye the time the sun had well set. She tried to use the Force to convince Damon to come out of that skeezy bar and take them home. If vampires and witches were real, damn Jedi might as well be real too. Nobody was playing by the rules. **

**It seemed she couldn't convince Damon out but she did draw Elena out. She was on the phone; her hands were using calming gestures. Surely she was talking to Aunt Jenna. She should be ranting and raving about how they were trapped in Georgia with a deranged killer. Had Addie's eyes not been so keenly trained on her sister, she never would have noticed exactly how her sister seemed to vanish. A dark clad figure clamped a hand over her mouth, startling her sister, making the phone drop to the ground as Elena tried to fight back. The figure had approached her from behind and left the same way but the door from the bar didn't open. The movements were way too fast. There was no fucking way she could handle this on her own. She **_**knew**_ **Damon was up to something!**

**Addie stretched forward for the door handle and awkwardly climbed out the Camaro. No way in hell was she letting Damon get away with some scheme with Elena, she thought as she jogged to where Elena had been. Stooping down, she swiped up the phone; thankful that the call with Aunt Jenna had ended. Setting her face so Damon knew she was determined, fierce and unyielding she stomped into the scuzzy bar.**

**Addie made her way directly to him as he sat down at the bar. There was an echoing crack when Addie slammed Elena's phone in front of Damon.**

"**I'm sorta so-" Damon started before before he got a clear look of the hatred from the cerulean eyes looking up at him.**

"**Where the hell is my sister?"**

**Damon looked over his shoulder towards, "She-"**

**Addie yanked Damon's face by each side of his jaw and forced him to look at her. "Don't play with me," she sneered at him. "She was on her the phone then one of **_**you**_ **snatched her."**

"**Outside?" he asked, looking worried.**

"**No, inside, dumbass," Addie rolled her eyes.**

**Damon grabbed Elena's phone and quickly made for the door, Addie quick on his heels. She watched him intake the surroundings then began to walk around the building and again she was right behind him.**

"**Damon, no!" cried a voice. Addie knew the shrill shrieks of her sister anywhere. Her eyes quickly focused on Elena as she hung onto a tank. **

**Addie jumped back as a blur appeared and a flash of something struck Damon hard. A scruffy, crazed looking man had a wooden plank and struck Damon several more times with it. Well, if she wasn't able to, no way in hell was she stopping someone from doing what she wanted. Damon and Elena had other opinions. **

"**What the hell?!"**

"**No!"**

**Then a giant can of gasoline appeared. Addie's conscience struggled as she watched the liquid slosh out and all over Damon. On the one hand she did really want Damon dead for the list of people he slew and those he would but could she really sit back and watch him be murdered in cold blood? She so wanted him and all vampires out of her life; they brought nothing but trouble. He did save her and Elena from another vampire, though. Of course, it was probably so he could enjoy killing them, but still. The other vampire would still be around even if Damon was dead. Damon had made hunting down Logan a mission; maybe he'd do the same with this next. Call it selfish but Damon alive was currently in her best interest. **

**Addie tinned back into the conversation and it didn't take long for her to catch up. This was a revenge killing. If she thought about it, that would be in the list of the top five reasons or ways that Damon Salvatore died, along with pissing off someone older and stronger, Stefan flipping out once Damon killed Elena, a vampire mob/gang related death, and Addie figuring out a way to kill him herself. Hubris was more likely than her actually being able to kill him, but it simply didn't make the list because she **_**wanted **_**on that list. **

"**I'm doing you a favor," the vampire snapped at Elena.**

"**You know, if you wait about, say six weeks to kill him, you would **_**really **_**be doing us two favors," Addie chimed in for the first time, standing halfway between the gasoline soaked Damon and the building behind them. A safe distance from fire should he become a big ball of fire but not so far away that she had to yell to be heard. And the stranger did and she continued once she was sure he was focusing on her. "Really, what's another six weeks? I'll serve him up on a silver platter. Hell, it may not even be as long as six weeks for him to do what needs to be done."**

"**You're using him," he surmised. Addie nodded. "And you'd turn on him and let me kill him once you're done with him? You'd stab him in the back? You're no better than he is!"**

**Addie saw the anger flare in his eyes and knew she was in danger but if she just explained…. "Not quite. Damon stabbed Lexi in the back, well chest. She had no idea what was coming. He knows what's in store for him and, unlike Lexi, he actually deserves it. So, I would hardly call it a betrayal just more of him doing one good thing in his life before he dies. He knows I hate him. He knows I want him dead. And most importantly, he knows I'm using him but it's his choice to play the game and he wants to. I am nothing like him just because I'd deliver him to you in six weeks to be killed."**

**Damon was leaning on an elbow sideways, unable to put his full weight on it. He awkwardly turned his head backwards so he was looking at Addie upside down. His expression was unreadable but if he argued with her on this, he'd just point out he planned on killing her first. She didn't believe him when he said he didn't have plans earlier in the car. **

**Elena's whiny, pleading voice broke in as the attacker seemed to be considering Addie's offer. "Lexi loved you and she was good! And that means you're good too. Be better than him. Don't do this. I'm begging you! Please."**

**Lexi's boyfriend picked up Damon by his leather jacket collar before throwing him overhead and sending his body straight into the loading dock, where he tumbled to the cement floor. Addie ran over to him as Elena still dealt with the other vampire. **

"**Guess that means I don't have to figure out a way to let him kill you in six weeks," Addie smiled slightly as she took of the flannel button-up she wore over a tank and used it to blot at the gash along his hairline. It was already healing but that didn't mean the blood couldn't be wiped away. She used the rest of her shirt to try and wipe the gasoline off his face. **

**They both heard Elena running up. Damon reacted first, taking the shirt out of Addie's hands and rubbing furiously at his own face while giving her an icy stare that made her scoot back quite a few inches. **

**Elena tried to fuss over Damon but he insisted he was fine.**

"**We're getting out of here before he changes his mind and decides to barbecue me," Damon asserted, heading to the car with the unspoken order that he be followed. He stopped abruptly that Addie walked right into him, as he had turned around. He stuck his hand into Addie's front pocket and before she could react, he had retracted it.**

"**What the fuck, Damon?" she snipped, pushing at his chest, though he didn't budge. **

**The vampire tossed the small, rectangular back and forth between his hands as he sneered down at Addie, "I certainly don't see a need for you to have this while I'm doused in gasoline. I'm sure you can understand considering you want me dead and I happen to be selfish and have a desire to live. Conflicting desires; can't you just feel the sexual tension?" Damon joked, walking the rest of the way to the trunk of his car.**

**Knowing she wouldn't find it, Addie still checked her front pocket for the lighter that she carried around habitually for years. She had a small fascination with the element. Once she lit a pair of jeans she was wearing because she simply wondered how long it would take the frayed denim at the cuff catch flame. The Mystic Grill switched to cloth napkins and removed candles from the table when she set off the water sprinkler when a paper napkin covering a jar candle caught flame. She wanted to know if the centimeter of distance between the tip of fire and napkin would transmit enough heat to cause a reaction. Then there was the experiment with sucking eggs into Gatorade bottles. Addie loved to shine her dad's shoes, using a mixture of spit and fire to make the gloss look like it was an artificial shine.**

"**You fucking jackass!" she exclaimed as she watched him pull out a clean pair of clothes from the trunk, including a leather jacket. Addie couldn't help but scoff. "Keep a stash for every time someone beats your ass? Can't have you walking around with blood on you."**

"**Mmmm," Damon hummed sarcastically sweet. "Oh, my little Ads. So right about being inconspicuous, so wrong about why. They're here for when I get someone else's blood on me, my dear. Now, you two get in the car while I go clean up," he finished, passing Addie the keys to the Camaro. **

"**And you wonder why I want you dead," Addie muttered stalking to the passenger side and opening the door. "After you Elena." Addie dangled the keys in front of her, "These mean shotgun."**

**They had been driving back for two hours. Addie had reverted to giving the silent treatment but Damon and Elena had kept up a steady flow of conversation until her sister had fallen asleep half an hour ago. **

* * *

"**Who'd you kill while you were in the bar?" Addie asked casually, still looking out at the dead crop fields they passed. **

**Damon's eyes glanced over her for a minute. "How'd you know?"**

"**My shirt? It only had a small bit from your forehead when you went in. Coming out, it had more but you didn't have any other cuts. It was a fair bit of blood," Addie pointed out flatly. She had decided to try and steal her emotions when it came to Damon and let nothing he did surprise her. **

**Damon could help but appreciate how observant she was, "The witch I went there to see. She double crossed me and told that guy I was there."**

"**Is that a threat I detect?" she remark just a monotone as before. **

"**No," he growled, his grip on the steering wheel tightening to the point where his pale skin was nearly translucent over the knuckles. If Addie hadn't been watching him out of the corner of her eye and seen his lips move, she would have thought her mind made up what she heard next. "I don't know what I would do if you did something to hurt me."**

"**Be careful; one might think you are starting to care about me," Addie muttered, a slight tease in her voice. Louder she asked, "Did the witch give you what you came for?"**

"**Yep," Damon grinned, popping the "p". He looked expectantly at Addie.**

**Dramatically she sighed, "Oh, Damon, please, please, tell me what you dragged us all the fucking way to Georgia for?**

"**Emily Bennett's grimoire. It's the way into the tomb," he smiled, slightly manic looking.**

"**Wow. I didn't take you for such a literary buff. Such a long drive just to get a book. If you weren't out of your fucking mind, I might be impressed," Addie quipped.**

**Damon shook his head, "Not the book. I still have to find the book. Bree just told me that if I got my hands on the book and undid the spell, poof! Katherine!"**

**Addie rested her hand on Damon's shoulder, "Damon, have you ever thought of help for your obsession with Katherine? It's a little desperate and pathetic."**

"**My little Ads," Damon grinned, patting Addie's hand, "all love is desperate and pathetic. There's nothing I wouldn't do for Kat."**

"**OK, let's put the crazy on the side for a minute," Addie dictated, turning in her seat, pulling her legs up so she sat crisscross, her back resting against the door. "Do you have to have nicknames for everyone? 'Kat' may have been down with it but I already have a nickname and it's Addie. Drop the 'my' because I am your nothing. Don't demean me with the 'little'. My closest friends can get away with calling me 'Ad' and I can tolerate Addison but I have no idea where 'Ads' came from but we're not close like that. You don't get your own, personal nickname for me."**

**Damon shook his head firmly, "'My little Ads' isn't going anywherre. You want me dead **_**and**_ **you want to use me. I'm letting you. I'm putting myself in harms way to figure out this mystery vampire. You know my secret and are keeping it. I'd say we got pretty intimate and personal when I started strangling suicidal you and in turn you bashed my face in. You're as close as I get to someone. The 'little' isn't demeaning. It's a reminder of how young and innocent you are and how badly you and I want it to stay that way. You don't want to see the supernatural horrors of this world and for some fucking reason that I can't explain or understand, I want to protect you from them. You're absolutely right that I have no claim to you but incase you don't get it yet I have this insane problem of caring about you and I don't know why or how to stop it! However, if you haven't noticed from the Katherine situation, I can be a bit selfish when it come to the things and people I care about. So you might not be mine but you're still something to me. Sorry, my little Ads, but you're stuck with the nick name,"**

"**Are you admitting to caring about me?" Addie scowled. "Ew."**

"**No! I just feel…. Fuck!" Damon swore, slapping the steering wheel. "I care about **_**Elena**_**. But you! Even though you want me dead, I just guess I feel I can trust you and I need to protect you."**

**Addie continuously raked her hands through her hair, "Back the fuck up. You're not allowed to care about Elena! I can't believe I'm saying this but remember Katherine? Freeing her? Reuniting your love? Focus on that crazy idea not the crazier idea of giving a fuck about my sister."**

"**Whoa," Damon grinned at Addie's rant, "Jealou?"**

"**No! I'm concerned for my sister! Do you not realize she was used as bait tonight against you?! If I had it my way she'd be with safe ol' Matt Donovan but she has to like a vampire. If I get a say, it's Stefan she likes and it stays that way. No offense but it's entirely personal. I have a feeling Stefan has a lot less enemies that will try and hurt her. Also, Stefan just seems like better boyfriend material. You seem like a serial cheater. You just dump her weepy ass in my lap when you reunite with Katherine? Hell no. You're a womanizer and a bad boy; you're not Elena's type. Your brother and my sister are **_**happy; **_**do you really want to screw that up? Just forget about her, Damon," pleaded Addie, panicking at the idea of Elena with Damon the serial killer. **

"**Alright! Hands off the big sister. I get it. My little Ads, so protective of a sister that she can barely stand. How noble," Damon snickered.**

**Addie seethed, "That's it! You're getting a fucking nickname. Dickhead, dumbass, douche bag… I'll be nice and let you pick."**

**arrogant **

"**How about 'your highness'?" Damon smirked.**

**Addie shook her head, "Too late, my derisive demon. Mmm, that's wordy, I'll save that for special occasions, everyday use shall be Demon since that's what you really are. You are my own, personal demon named Damon."**

**Damon laughed, "Alright. I'm your derisive Demon."**

**Addie pouted and grumbled, "There's no fun if you don't find insult in it."**

"**Addie, you want me dead. That is an honor. Knowing I'm your own personal hell is my goal."**

"**Ugh!"Addie growled. "Do you know how full of contradictions you are? Don't you feel the need to protect me? You said that yourself!"**

**Damon slung his arm along the back of the car seat. He reached out and twilled some of Addie chocolate brown hair around a single finger. "I don't need to protect you from me. You're convinced I'm this horrible monster intent on killing you or hurting you and your family. I wish I could convince you to trust me, though I don't know why the hell it matters to me."**

"**You could, you know? This just a bracelet with a little vervain. I'm not strong enough to stop you from tearing it off. You could easily compel me into anything you want so why haven't you?" Addie mused aloud, hoping she wasn't planting ideas in his head.**

"**It's artificial," Damon shrugged, "I could do it but it wouldn't mean anything except blind loyalty and trust from you. I like that you're smart enough not to trust me. To fully trust me would be the stupidest thing anyone could ever do. I just wished you trusted me as much as I trust you."**

"**You want a friend, Damon," Addie cautiously whispered.**

"**No, friends are weaknesses. Where would you get that idea," Damon implored.**

"**You trust me. You care about me in some weird way. You get that in some sick way I don't 100% hate you even though I should and I thought I did but if that were true, I would have lit you like a candle tonight. And you want me to trust you as much as you trust me. My real friends are limited to Jeremy and Bonnie so I'm about as much of an expert in this as you but I'd say you're looking for a friend in me," Addie teased slightly. **

"**No. That's never happening."**

"**Am I that dreadful?" Addie laughed.**

"**No," Damon gripped the wheel tighter "but you'll never trust me and I'm not an idiot. I don't make friends." **

**Addie laughed again, "I bet but beware, Demon. You save my life or some shit enough times, you're gonna be screwed."**

* * *

Addie mindlessly played Eleanor Rigby, musing over the trip. It had been very evil of Damon to road-nap her as his idea of a road trip was a complete bore and included murder. Then again, everything about Damon seemed to involve murder.

Her cellphone vibrated against her hip twice, alerting her of a text. Jeremy and Jenna were downstairs; Stefan had this horrible idea that you had to actually use a cell phone for calls; only one person would be texting her.

Demon: Pretty unfriendly of me not to try and save you sister and witchy friend, huh? You must be going crazy with worry.

Damon had been texting Addie snarky and mean comments ever since the trip. She wasn't sure if it was some twisted game he was playing of if he was just being an ass. Did he think you befriend someone by making them think about you all the time? Maybe that'd work yet he only points out negative things about himself. Reverse psychology? Infantile behavior? Making it a point to not be friends? Addie couldn't explain him. Most of the text she ignored as they weren't directly related to her. This one kinda was.

Addie: No. Stefan will save them from Anna. The only thing driving me crazy is how susceptible everyone is to your kind. Elena falls in love with one. Bonnie crushes on one and gets kidnapped. Jeremy befriends one and Elena gets kidnapped. Am I the only one with the sense to stay the fuck away?

Damon respond instantaneously. Addie suspected he liked the attention.

Demon: Yes. You read people very well and get sense of who not to trust. Normal people are taken in by our beauty It is because of me that you can sorta sense vampires; I let you destroy the most perfect face so even the most beautiful cannot deceive your.

Addie groaned and rolled her eyes and debated on even responding.

Addie: Do you try and work the logic of what you say or do you just say the most egotistical thing that comes to mind?

Demon: ...You're concern for Elena and Bonnie is so touching.

Addie: Excuse me if I don't want to go jumping into a supernatural fight where I'd only get in Stefan's way. I'm not my fucking sister. I don't want it to become normal for me to go and dig up a corpse to get a magic book. Say that out loud and just listen to how fucked up it is. All I know is that whoever has them wants into the same tomb as you so I can see why you're not helping Stefan. You're probably working with the other vampires. I want the damn tomb open just to stop all the drama about opening it! Fuck the other 27 vampires that come out. That's a problem for Future Addie. Current Addie no longer gives a shit. Do what you have to in order to get the tomb open, Damon. I don't want to hear about it again. Oh, just don't sacrifice my friend or sister, I would like them back when you're done with them.

* * *

** A/N: Is Addie being selfish or a brat or is she justified in not running after Elena and Bonnie?**


	8. Chapter 11

Addie ran. She ran hard and fast and desperate. The nippy winter air made her eyes water and nose runny but those were little nuisances compared to the pain of contrast as it flew in and out of her warm lungs. The path through the trees was becoming less and less defined; Jeremy and Addie had never ventured much further into the woods in the past. Soon she would have to turn back towards the cabin. She'd have the two hours of hurling herself back to make her body as tired and weak as possible.

Addie had snuck out to the cabin Friday morning, hitching a ride from Caroline; hopefully she'd be too self-absorbed or forgetful to mention anything to Elena. Poor Aunt Jenna thought she was staying with Bonnie but ever since her grams' death, Bonnie had been staying with an Aunt in Massachusetts and worse, would barely speak to Addie. If anyone could understand what she was going through, it would be Bonnie; this was her first holiday season without her grams just like it was Addie's first without her parents. She thought she and her siblings would be united in this pain but no. Elena was so wrapped up in Saint Stefan, her holy saviour and Christmas miracle that Addie barely saw her. Addie didn't resent her sister so much for this as she thought the two deserved each other, pretending to be perfect saints together. They may have had everybody else fooled but Addie knew how mean and narcissistic her sister could be and she wasn't sipping the Kool-aid that made one think Stefan was a _good_ vampire. He had 150 years of secrets. There was more to the story of him and Damon. Damon did not "exist to make Stefan's life miserable" for no reason. She had enough drama with her own sister to know there were two sides to every story.

She'd admit to having gotten Elena into trouble when she would have gone unpunished if Addie kept her mouth shut but how much trouble and disruption she would cause in Elena's life was directly proportionate to how badly Elena had hurt her. It was inevitable that Elena would hurt her as puberty and popularity had gone straight to her head, making her vain and ruthless. She'd make cutting, snide comments to Addie just as she'd throw tantrums to get their parents attention, even if it meant Jeremy or Addie got hurt in the process. Addie would openly admit that she was a bitch to her sister sometimes but she loved her and it was one of those situations where nobody could fuck with her sister except her because it was a sibling's right, considering their history. Ok, she knew it was wrong to be mean on purpose but she wasn't going to sit back and take Elena's shit and be scared of her like some of the more unpopular kids.

She felt guilty that she slightly wished Jeremy could feel what she was going through so they could go through it together; she knew it would be so much easier and less painful if Jeremy was there to share her burden and they'd be each other's rock. However, Damon had taken away Jeremy's suffering, that meant the pain he felt from the loss of their parents. That was a good thing; he didn't need to needlessly feel the misery of all the lost traditions and relieve all the happy memories and feel the ache and longing knowing that more would never be created with their parents.

Christmas had been a massage with way too much pressure, if Addie were to put it nicely. Aunt Jenna had tried too hard in some areas but by trying, completely broke everything about the holiday.

Her parents had always been uptight about Christmas morning but Jenna was so lax that it was like any weekend morning. Mom would pick out matching pajamas as "gifts" and let Addie and her siblings open them Christmas eve and it was mandatory that those pajamas be worn that night, even if they were made of itchy wool. Everyone had to be at the top of the stairs at 9:00 sharp; no earlier, no later. Jeremy was always inevitably yanking covers off of Addie and sometimes even pulling her from bed at 8:50; she had to be the only kid who did not shoot up first thing in the morning for Christmas. Though, she didn't she the point when Jeremy and her had spent all of November and December scouring the house and even Dad's office for presents and she happened to be unnaturally good at guessing what was in the wrapped package. That was way more fun than Christmas morning; sleeping in was much more preferable. This past Christmas she somehow slept until 2:00PM.

Once they were at the top of the stairs, Dad would have the video camera constantly rolling and Mom would have the camera flash going off every few seconds. They'd coo over how cute they looked matching and then tell them to come and see what Santa brought. Even with all their children teenagers, they made them leave out milk and cookies for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph and each had to write a letter asking for one thing. It drove Addie crazy; particularly when her parents would point out the half eaten carrot and cookie crumbs. There was none of that this year; but Addie would have loved to write one last letter to Santa and ask for peace and happiness for herself. She knew it was selfish but her siblings already seemed to have it; well, Elena didn't entirely have peace but that was her own fault for hanging out with vampires.

Her parents always went overboard with presents. Addie knew her siblings and she were spoiled when they got bored opening presents or one year it carried over to the next day. One thing she loved that most families didn't do, was each person would open a present while everyone watched and they would go from youngest to oldest; it was a good way to see what everyone got and to remember who got you what. It was one of the few times there was never any bitterness or jealousy between Elena and Addie. That didn't happen this year; by the time she got downstairs, only Addie's presents were left under the tree. She didn't get to see Elena's expression as she opened the purple leather diary embossed with her name and on the back:

An older sister helps one remain half child, half woman.

Thanks, 'Lena

Addiecakes

Nor did she get to see Jeremy open the Srathmore 400 series hardcover sketchbook and the Royal &amp; Langnickle Deluxe sketching art set. They weren't exactly personalized like Elena's but she had worked really hard to remember precisely what he had wanted and at almost professional grade level, it was quite expensive; not that price mattered. Addie just knew Jeremy would love it since he had started drawing again and she had wanted to see that brilliant, genuine smile that lit up a room.

Nobody was even home when she went downstairs! Aunt Jenna left a note saying she was out, which wasn't suspicious at all, but that everyone was expected at the Grill at 6 for dinner. Mom and Elena had always baked a honey glazed ham but Addie demanded on making all the side dishes and desserts. She was an excellent cook as long as she didn't have to touch raw meat. They did not do dinner at the Mystic Grill. A quick text to Elena and Addie found out she was with Stefan. She couldn't reach Jeremy and gave him the coldest of shoulders that evening as she had a bacon cheeseburger, not ham, mashed potatoes, biscuits, pies, and a scoop of peas just to please her dad.

Tears were falling down her face by the time she reached the cabin. The sun was starting to set; it'd be dark in an hour. Standing still, the winter wind whipped at the sweat she had worked up, making her shiver. She might be hot as the Sahara but she knew within a few hours the cabin would be as cold as Hoth. Gathering some of the firewood her father had chopped the previous year she couldn't help but feel pathetic at how lame she was, using geography and Star Wars for comparison. Addie let the wood tumble in front of the dying fire; she would rebuild it later. A more important fact had occurred to her and that was the sensation of tears still rolling down her cheeks. She undid her ponytail to rake a hand through her hair and wonder if she was losing her mind as her other hand grabbed her phone off the coffee table. Holding her breathe Addie quickly input an address and hit send before she could rethink her decision. Tossing her phone on the couch, she continuously ran her finger through her hair as she headed to the master shower to wash of the sweat and grime of the woods.

The king size bed was stripped of linens, her mother always preferring to put a freshly laundered set on each time they came up to visit. Addie tried not to recall the fishing trip her dad brought her and Jeremy up for in March over spring break. All she wanted to focus on was how good the double headed shower was going to feel.

Despite the cold outside, she still felt hot from her run and only felt a short sting of shock as cool water spouted over her. Addie focused on drenching her hair; she didn't like the oily feeling that builded up from sweat after a run. With a long sigh, she reached out and grabbed the half-filled shampoo bottle and squirted more than the necessary amount into her hand. The liquid foamed up between her fingers and in her hair as the strong scent of strawberries filled the bathroom. She rubbed and scratched vigorously at her scalp; the sweat just made her feel so dirty. Once satisfied that the cleanser had covered every bit of hair, she rinsed it out. Addie ignored the tremble of her hands and lips as she repeated the process with volumizing conditioner her mother had left behind. She let the conditioner sit as she grabbed the bottle of soap and squeezed some into a washcloth. Memories of her father flooded her thoughts as the scent of ginger and sandalwood joined the smell of freshly picked strawberries.

Tears ran hot down her cheeks as she recalled her father taking her to the shooting range; Elena hadn't found such a thing fitting for a girl and Jeremy didn't like the sound of strangers firing unexpectedly. She remembered crying as she caught her first fish, while Jeremy and Dad clapped her on the back; she made her father unhook it and toss it back. Addie cried, afraid that it had brain damage from being out of the water so long and mad at herself for hurting it. She could feel the weight of her mom's hand guiding hers as she attempted calligraphy for what felt like the billionths time.

Memory after memory assaulted Addie. Struggling to breathe, as if she was trapped in a corset, she hastily rinsed the soap from her body and conditioner from her hair, hoping the smell would swirl down the drain as well. No such luck. She stumbled out of the shower, barely able to see through the tears. Making out the blob of a towel, she snatched it and staggered out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Addie clutched the towel to her chest, feeling her heart hammer through her ribs. Her legs began to shake; soon she wouldn't be able to stand.

_Take control._She had to regain control. It was all in her head. Her legs were fine and it was way too cold in the cabin to just be holding on to the towel. Her breaths deepening slightly, she wrapped the fluffy, extra size bath towel around her. Blinking slowly something began to click; that banging wasn't in her head. It was the door. Still slightly out of it, she took a long, shuddering breath and headed to the front door.

"Oh, wow. Not what I was expecting from my little Ads," Damon gave a low chuckle. "Trying to seduce me with the wet hair and towel look? Tsk, tsk. Someone under 18 has been visiting sites for those much older."

Addie pulled at the towel self-consciously and rubbed at her eyes. Why the hell had she wanted him up here? She slammed the door in his face but not before a slicing, "Fuck you, Demon."

She went to the room that she would share with Elena and pulled on a pair of undergarments, a pair of snowflake printed fuzzy pajama pants and an old Whitmore College sweatshirt of her dad's. Using an elastic she pulled her hair into a quick bun. Addie went back to open the front door, wondering if Damon was still there.

He sat on the top stair to the deck, having brushed clean an area of snow. It must have fallen while she was in the shower. It was fully dark out too; she had to be in there longer than she thought. Damon turned his head at the sound of the door creaking open. He made to get up until he saw Addie sit crisscross on the opposite side of the screen door.

"You're seriously not inviting me in?" Damon asked incredulously.

Addie shook her head, her voice cracking when she answered, "No. Dad always called this place a safe house. Somehow, inviting a vampire into it seems like it would make it unsafe."

"Addie it's cold as fuck for Christ's sake!" Damon responded with incredulousness.

Addie shook her head, "Not fooling me, Damon. Vampires don't get cold."

Damon rolled his eyes and stood up, leaning against the porch railing, "I'm not worried about me. You have wet hair and your fire is dying. You're going to get sick."

Addie huffed and stalked towards the fireplace, grabbing the fire poker she directed it accusingly at him, "Of course that's what you mean."

She tossed two of the logs she had brought inside and grabbed a few sheets of old newspaper off the mantle, shredding some and balling others before dropping them in the fireplace. Addie used the poker to make sure the paper caught flame; once she had a strong enough burning ball of fire, she was able to set one of the logs on fire. With careful precision she maneuvered the unlit log on top of the lit log and grinned with smug satisfaction as it caught fire as well.

"There," she snubbed, leaning against the doorframe, "a roaring fire. You don't catch illnesses from being cold anyways, that comes from viruses and germs. I believe you qualify as both."

"Ah, so that's why I can't come in: you're a germaphobe," Damon teased, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Addie shook her head, "No, I don't trust you not to stuck the life out of me; like literally. Don't take it personally; I don't like Caroline in here because she sucks the life out of me figuratively. All that cheer and neuroticism bottled in one little body, it's about as unnatural as you."

Damon wasn't listening to what Addie was saying as he was more focused on taking in the little aspects of her that showed something was wrong. He'd been knocking for a good ten minutes before she opened the door in a towel; that was not the modest Addie he knew. If he listened closely, he could hear her heart beating slightly faster and harder than normal and her breathing was a bit shallow. He noticed her hands shaking when she went to build up the fire but truth was that her entire body was trembling.

"Addison," that definitely had her looking at him with a quizzical expression, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she shrugged, pretending she had no idea what he was talking about.

Leather strained over toned muscles as Damon crossed his arms, "I'm a very observant guy. You want me to go over every fact that alerts me to something being wrong, which will make you feel like crap, or do you just want to come clean and let me help?"

Addie averted her eyes to the snow falling behind Damon, "Why are you still here, Damon?"

"Because you texted me to come out into the middle of nowhere?" Damon responded perplexed.

"I mean in Mystic Falls." Addie steeled herself, grateful that the house protected her. "Katherine wasn't in the tomb. She lied to you and is out living her life somewhere. You, on the other hand, have become a permanent fixture at the Mystic Grill bar attached to a bottle of alcohol. You've become kind of pathetic."

Damon's eyes narrowed, "We're discussing the fact that you look like shit right now; not my problems."

"Shame," Addie said, making to close the door. "Conversation works two ways."

"I asked first and I'll answer second," Damon spilled out quickly, without thinking, just knowing he couldn't let her shut that door. She called him out here for some reason.

'

Addie let the door hang half close behind her as she walked to the sofa.

Damon heard the shaking mess in front of him and heard a soft offer to enter. In three quick strides, the screen door had slammed behind him, the door clicked into place and he was seated next to Addie. He could feel her shaking next to him, where there shoulders, thighs, and knees touched. Hesitantly he put an arm around her shoulder; she tensed for a moment but then relaxed, her shaking a little scooted back and sunk into the plush leather couch. With a little encouragement through pressure in his fingertips, he had Addie lean back too, hoping she would relax. It was to Damon's shock that she curled her head against his chest. He slipped his arm more tightly around her so he could reach her hand and interlocked their fingers. He gave a firm yet gentle squeeze to her fingers and finally he could feel her shaking ebb away.

_This isn't at all inappropriate, _Addie thought sarcastically. However, she was way past caring what was right and wrong; all her energy had been spent fighting off that panic attack.

"Are you capable of telling the truth, Damon?" Addie inquired.

"You smell like strawberries and a man," he said with a deep breath, noticing how natural her head rising and falling with his chest felt.

Addie voice was barely a whisper when she answered, "My mom's shampoo and conditioner and my dad's soap."

"Did you want to ask me something?" Damon broke the long, tense silence.

"Would a person know they've been compelled?"

Damon had to think about this. He had compelled so many people and vampires that it kind of blurred. "Vampires tend to know if they're being compelled. Humans are a bit more complicated. If they are aware of compulsion, they are more likely to notice being compelled but for the most part they do not know."

Addie wa thoughtful for a moment, unsure if she wanted an answer to her next question, "Have you ever compelled me?"

"No," his voice betrayed no sign of lying. "Why do you ask that?"

Addie wiggled her free arm under Damon and around his waist. "Don't hate me," she hesitated.

"I think you already said the most insulting part when you even questioned if I would do that," Damon laughed.

"I suppose I did," she bit her lip anxiously.

Damon took his hand that wasn't holding Addie's and rubbed her shoulder. They were definitely cuddling; Damon Salvatore did not cuddle. God, Katherine fucked him up. He was finding comfort in the arms of a 14-year-old! A girl that was under his compulsion! He wanted her _sister._ He would be lying if he said he hadn't missed talking to her since the tomb had been open. It had only been about three weeks since they had talked but he liked someone who called him out on his shit. She was the first one to speak like that about how he had been acting since he had found out about Katherine.

"I thought you might have because ever since we met, I've felt different."

Damon snorted, "Way to be specific, Ads. I can totally help you with that."

"If you'll not be a dick for a minute," she brooded. "I'm not myself, Damon. I feel like I don't have control over myself and yet I have way too much control. Tonight I was able to fight off a panic attack by just sort of thinking my way through it. I always have to run away from one either literally or with medication or some other way. I, somehow, suddenly picked myself up from the mess that I was when my parts died...right after I met you. I say things that I don't have the courage to. I'm curled up with a fucking serial killer who has tried to kill my best friend. My logical, rational brain is screaming at me for being such a fucking, suicidal idiot to ever trust someone like that, especially since you 'vant to suck my blood,'" she said in a bad Dracula imitation before rushing on. "Yet, some really stupid voice inside my head says 'It's your life. Do what you want! Stop living so cautiously! Live like you're in control.'"

"That doesn't sound so bad to me. Maybe you just needed a near death experience and to bash a serial killer's face in to become who you really are," Damon shrugged.

Addie looked up into Damon's eyes, begging him to understand, "But I don't like this me or this feeling of not knowing if I'm in control or not. If this is me becoming who I really am, then I am really stupid!" Her voice cracked sharply on the last word.

"Why? Because you're here with me?" Damon demanded, drawing back from Addie slightly.

"For one, yeah!" Addie nodded at the obvious statement. "And I'm selfish! I should have never have left Elena alone with you in Georgia and I should have been out there trying to help Stefan any way I could."

"Or maybe, just maybe," Damon sneered, "You just can't accept the fact that you trust me! You already reasoned out that you would just be in Stefan's way, and you would have and you would have just put yourself in a situation to get hurt or used like your sister was. You were _smart _to stay away. You're the one who told me that you're not responsible for the trouble she gets into for playing with vampires; that if she just stays away from Stefan and me, she wouldn't have any problems. It's not your job to save the day."

"We both know I'd be stupid to trust you," Addie murmured, staring into the fire.

"I'm beginning to doubt that," confided Damon, resting his chin on Addie's damp hair.

Addie's lips twitched, "I'm confident enough in my control and sanity not to be suckered in by a line like that, Demon."

"Trust me," Damon groaned, snatching the quilted blanket off of the armrest and wrapping it around them as Addie's skin was much too cool, "I wish it was a line. You have a way of making things complicated."

"Meaning what?" traces of whining laced Addie's voice but she settled further back into Damon, seeking the little warmth he provided and covering the bottom half of her face with the blanket.

Unthinkingly, Damon scooped up Addie's legs behind the knee and draped them diagonally over his own knees; now her feet were closer to the fire. He chose not to register that he held her in place with a firm hand on her knee, his thumb tracing random patterns in the fuzzy pants that covered her lower thigh.

"Meaning I should have killed you by now for one reason or another; really you're quite rude and just give me more and more reas-"

Addie cut him off with mirth, "Does it irk you to have someone as rude as you around?"

Damon gritted his teeth and chose not to give her the satisfaction of answering. Besides, no one could top him on rudeness. "Reasons to kill you. Some _horrific _part of me just doesn't want to."

"I just must not be doing a very good job of pissing you off," Addie shrugged, wiggling her toes as the warm fire set life back into them. She wasn't gonna buy Damon turning good though she couldn't control the beat her heart skipped at his deep, low, chuckle that rattled beneath her cheek. Stupid hormones.

"You bashed my face in and staked me; I've killed other vampires over less."

His laugh made her giggle, "You sure that's something you want to be boasting about when you're trying to convince me to trust you?"

Damon licked his lips before carefully speaking, "I don't want to convince you of anything and I'm not trying to. I can't help but notice that I don't want to hurt you, though. Maybe that means I want you to trust me or something, I don't know."

"Why would you not want to hurt me, Damon? Think about it. Something that kept you from killing me the moment we met possibly?" Addie pushed, determined to put him through the wringer if he was going to feed her this bullshit.

Damon's thumb pressed slightly harder as he traced a star over and over trying to remember. "I guess maybe because you're Elena's sister. I knew about her then and her identicalness to Katherine was uncanny and I wanted to figure it out."

Addie stiffened once again and tried to pull away but Damon wouldn't let her. Tongue like a razor she aimed, "Of course, it always comes back to my darling of a sister, Saint Elena. You should have ended me. She wouldn't have minded. You know, she's not even my sister?"

"I had heard. I wanted to ask how you were doing with that but…" he trailed of guiltily, pressing his forehead against the top of Addie's head.

"You were more consumed in your own problems," Addie finished, tilting her head away from him, yet keeping her head pressed against his chest.

Damon's chin met Addie's against the cool leather of his jacket, His lips hovered where her jaw and ear met, If he wasn't going to hell before, he was now from the thrill he got at the shiver he elicited from the girl in his arms with his next words.

Addie's eyes fluttered close as a strange, tingly sensation rippled through her as Damon's warm breath caressed the sensitive skin of her neck and earlobe. For a moment, she almost believed him.

"I'm sorry."

Addie struggled to come up with a way to deal with the apology and instead just chose to ignore it. "I'm not dealing with it well. It's making me question every aspect of our relationships with our parents, Does it explain why my mother blatantly favored Elena over Jeremy and me? Is that why they gave in to her every tantrum? Is that why both of them had to be on the bridge that night?"

"All that's in the past. Placing blame or casting doubt is just going to make things worse between you and Elena," Damon reasoned quietly.

"So?" Addie knew she was being childish but she didn't care. This gave her reasons to questions Elena's motives and that was something to focus on beside whether or not she was in control of herself.

"So, I know deep down you guys love each other and this fighting is just a bunch of pettiness," Damon murmured, flicking the shell of Addie's ear with his nose.

"Mhm," Addie sighed, remembering what Damon was all about. "And I'm sure you want Elena and me on good terms so I can put in a good word on behalf of my wonderful friend Damon so you can worm your way into her heart and push your brother out."

He would like that but he could already feel Addie tensing and making to pull away. She was going back to shutting him out.

"I'm not going to deny wanting Elena, you already know that. But, and if you repeat this I will deny it, there is so much hatred and distrust and resentment between Stefan and me that it's just sad and we're stuck together for eternity. You, Elena, and Jeremy are all you really have and I don't want you to destroy it over things you can't control or change. She's still your sister, blood or not."

The cabin was quiet for several minutes.

"Oh, I asked you out here for a ride back into town. I thought I could clear my head out here but it just made everything worse," Addie muttered, pulling up and down the undone zipper on Damon's jacket.

Her cheek felt like silk under his lips with the press of a chaste kiss. His stubble against her face and solid muscles surrounding her were distinctly male.

"After Georgia, I think I more than owe you a drive to the location of your choice. But," he tightened his fingers in hers and the arm wrapped around him and his other hand pulled her legs up higher onto his lap, "can you wait until morning?"

"Mhm," Addie sighed, too tired and comfortable to argue.

* * *

**A/N: I'm very on-the-fence about how I feel about this chapter; particularly Addie and Damon together. On a much brighter note: to whoever added me to the community of The Greatest DamonxOC Stories, I am so deeply honored! And everyone who has reviewed and followed and marked this as a favorite, I thank you all so much =)**


	9. Chapter 12

In the haze between wake and sleep she was aware of her arm tingling and burning. Instinct told her to move it but the limb wouldn't budge; a heavy weight trapped it in place. Groaning, she opened her eyes to investigate. Leather on her face, muscles under her figures, rum, cloves and cinnamon in her nose. Damon. This was certainly a much more awkward situation in the light of day, pale streaks of sunlight scattered across the rooms. It also looked and felt a lot more compromising than Addie remembered.

Last she recalled, she was most definitely sitting on the couch and one of Damon's hands held hers while his other rested on her knees. Delicately, she shifted her weight around. She could feel the blood drain from her face as she recognized that what was under her was much firmer than the plushy hand that rested over hers at her navel wasn't nearly as mortifying as the hand that was splayed across one of her butt-cheeks, balancing her on Damon's upper thighs. Damon's socked feet were propped up on the coffee table, letting his long legs serve as rest-boards for Addie's.

Addie slowly pulled her hand out from under Damon's and ran her fingers through her hair, fingers getting caught on a few snags and tangles from the night's sleep. This was going to be tricky. She did her best to turn onto her stomach and face Damon. After many minutes and several halting, slow movements, a knee was placed on the outside of each of Damon's thigh and her free hand was propped up next to Damon's shoulder. As she hovered over him, Addie felt the tightness in her chest loosen a little now that none of her weight wasn't on Damon, though she still felt tense at the feeling of his hand on her backside. She bit her lip in determination as she repeatedly jerked her arm that was stuck under Damon's waist. It was slow progress but her arm was slowly making its way free.

Addie's shoulders raised up to her ears as she worked up the energy to pull her arm free yet again. Her lip was bit to hold back a grunt that would want to break free as her arm fought to do the same when a voice interrupted her.

"Oh, my little Ads," Addie's eye flashed down to Damon's face, his eyes lidded and voice husky from sleep, "you are developing quite the provocative nature. Towels, cleavage-showing-sweatshirts, and straddling me; where will you draw the line?"

Though Damon's tone was more than suggestive, Addie's desire to knee him in the groin dissipated as he shifted his hand from her ass to the more safe zone of her waist. The idea was became quite appealing again when she realized exactly where Damon was looking. The Whitmore College jumper that had been her dad's was much too big for Addie and as she leaned over Damon, her raised shoulders pooled the neckline of the sweatshirt around her throat a deep scoop over her chest had formed.

Addie gave a sharp tug to her arm, which came free as Damon lifted his weight from the pinned limb. Having used more force than necessary, she was office balanced. Damon grabbed her flailing arms to help steady Addie, causing her to land on his knees, still straddling him.

"You know, you should be a lot more careful. You're going to crack your skull open. I won't always be there to save the day," Damon smirked, having taken his feet off the coffee table so he could bounce Addie on his knees.

Addie clambered off Damon, after giving him a quick swat to the arm and pinning him with a glare, "You are the world's biggest dick."

"More like in the top five. My dick is awe inspiring but it's not that impressive," Damon continued smirking, interlacing his fingers and locking them behind his head.

"Ugh! You're also a pig. Your selective hearing is such a pain in the ass," Addie groaned from the corner of the couch, trying to push herself as far away from Damon as possible.

Damon's stomach gave a loud rumble as Addie finished. "You are so right. I am starving. Do you want to volunteer as breakfast?" he grinned darkly.

Addie quickly got to her feet and started heading towards the room she would share with Elena on family vacations. She didn't think Damon was serious but she'd be damned if she'd start to trust him now. "How about I volunteer on the 15th of never? Let me just get dressed and let's get out of here. I need human food; not humans as food."

Addie wander to the room and pulled out a pair of jean and a baseball t-shirt from the small bag she had brought for the weekend. Anxiously she made her way back to the master bathroom, recalling last nights events. Brushing her teeth, she felt like she was choking on toothpaste. She just had to get out of here. She couldn't stand it. She just couldn't bear the memories. She had always loved this place before but it was now haunted by the ghost of memories past.

Quickly she changed, went back into the bedroom she shared, pulled out neon pink socks and put on a pair of lime green converse. Slinging the overnight bag over her shoulder, she was grateful to find upon returning to the living room to find that Damon had put his shoes back on.

"Alright, let's go! Time to get go," Addie commanded with a forced cheerfulness. "Only one person around for miles and I don't feel like being breakfast."

Damon gave her a puppy dog eyed look and pleaded, "Just little nibble. Just a snack to hold me over."

"That's not even funny, Damon. And that look doesn't work for you; no way I would ever believe you of being innocent of anything," snickered Addie, her foot tapping in annoyance. She really wanted to get out of here.

Filling a large cup of water from the kitchen sink, Addie poured it over the few remaining embers in the fireplace. Off the back of the couch she grabbed her Mystic Falls Middle School track and field jacket and slid it on. Now she was really ready to grow.

"You take the fun out of everything," Damon pouted.

Addie smirked and looked back at him as if hard in thought, "I think you're thinking of the wrong sister." Dropping the sly smirk her tone changed to one of seriousness, "That's my goal in life Damon, to keep you from having fun. If you're having fun means something terrible is happening. My goal is to make sure the world doesn't burn at your feet as you're having this so called fun."

After making sure the fire was completely out, Addie locked up the cabin while Damon started his car, warming it from the cold January air. Addie joined him moments later. For half of the trip back to Mystic Falls, Addie couldn't help but feel like she was trapped in her own, personal experience of awkward silence because Damon looked completely comfortable one hand on the steering wheel, the other on the center console

Damon was an enigma to her; she knew from Elena's journal that he was either bringing home several women for serial casual sex and feeding or he was parked on a bar stool in the Mystic Grill, from her own observations. Those were a warning signs for a downward spiral according to her oh so many therapist.

"You never answered my question last night," Addie cut firmly through the air.

The only sign of Damon's discomfort was his adjusting to steering with two hands, "What question?"

Addie rolled her eyes; he knew what she was talking about. "Why are you still here? Why are you still in Mystic Falls?"

"Does it really matter?" Damon sighed, leaning his head against the window as he continued to drive, his eyes looking far off and vacant.

"Depends," Addie muttered, flicking him hard on the back of the hand. "I'd rather not be the next member of my family to be killed in a car crash if you wouldn't mind paying attention to the road."

"I'm paying complete attention," Damon said defensively if somewhat distractedly.

"Of course you are," Addie proclaimed, throwing up her hands, seeing that the situation was hopeless.

They drove on silence for minutes until Addie heard a muttered voice, "She said we had something. Have something? I don't exactly know where that all stands?"

Addie looked at Damon from the corner of her deep blue eyes, afraid that he would stop talking if he felt her staring at him. "Kath-" she started slowly and hesitantly before being cut off.

"Elena. Right before we opened the tomb."

Letting herself become deadweight, Addie's head slammed against the dashboard. "You're here because of fucking Elena? God, Damon! I hate to be the bitch that throws this right back in your first when you're hurting and all but did you learn _nothing_ from chasing Katherine? I love my sister but she is a manipulative bitch who is head over fucking heels in love with Stefan, She will play on any signs of emotions or weaknesses to get you to do what she wants you to do, good or bad.

Think about it. Do any of her actions say she has some pining love for you and wants you to stick around so you can explore it together? No. If you weren't Stefan's brother, and his happiness wasn't linked to yours, do you think she'd care i you died? Damon, you're invisible to her in the way that you want. The only reason you exist in her world is because anything that is close to Stefan must be pissed and marked on to show it's her property. You prove just that; you're a whipped bitch who can't get close to his brother because, oh, look! You both have to want poor little Elena."

Addie was steamed to find Damon laughing at her, "Wow. You really have some problems with your sister, don't you?"

"No, Damon, I've accepted her being that way. I just didn't expect someone as observant and cold and calculating as you to be taken in by her. I'm just disappointed in you for falling for the same face and rehearsed words."

For the first time ever, Addie saw Damon's cheek visibly flood red though whether it was at the reproach or in anger, she wasn't sure. He opened his mouth to speak but then decided to just turn on the radio to a classic rock station. They listened to the station in a thick silence most of the way back to Mystic Falls but when AC/DC came on, Addie couldn't take the station anymore. Rotating the tuning dial, Addie tuned it to the classical and instrumental station of the area. Damon spun the knob off the screechy violins and back to his glam rock. Addie huffed in annoyance and fiddled the tuner back to Beethoven's Violin Sonata 2. Damon made a face of disgust before switching the station back to his preferred channel.

Addie reached for the stereo again but Damon lightly slapped her hand away, "Driver's car. Driver's stereo. Driver driving. Driver's choice of station. Comprendre?"

"That's so unfair," Addie complained. "Driver has sucky taste in sucky music. What happened to the concept of generosity? Mine. Mine. Mine." A large gasp escaped Addie as if in surprise, "You're almost as selfish as my sister. Maybe you _should _be perfect together; two possessive attention whores," she trailed off to herself.

Damon gave her a sly smirk and raised his eyebrows up and down mischievously before shaking his head in feigned disappointment, "Boy, you have no idea what you are talking about. AC/DC is one of the greatest bands of all times. There era was the time of some of the greatest music; and I've been around a long time to judge."

Addie rolled her eyes, "Someone obviously doesn't know music. AC/DC covers up crappy songs with the flashy use of guitars. You can't even tell there are other instruments half the time besides drums and guitars."

Damon shook his head again; how could she not get this? "The guitar riffs are wicked. They are the classic sounds of rock. There is no rock without guitar. Are you saying you hate rock? Because that's what I'm hearing. If you are, I will pull this car over and make your ass walk back to Mystic Falls!

"And as overly dramatic as Elena," Addie grumbled to herself. "I love rock 'n' roll. I just prefer when they acknowledge that there are other instruments that compose a song. The guitar is not god's gift to man.."

Damon looked at her as if he was personally offended, "Do you have a problem with the guitar?"

"Not guitars. Just guitar players they're just," Addie shrugged, searching for the right word, "too moody, too broody, too wrapped up in themselves to care about what is going on in the rest of the world; they're just not my kind of people."

Damon's icy blue eyes scrutinized her, leaving the road for a moment, "And what gives you the right to be the judge of all guitar players."

Addie was suddenly fascinated with her nails and was meticulously inspecting them for dirt, "Nothing, it's just how all the ones I've ever met seem. Bass players, drummers, pianist: they're all much, much more laid back; they're heads aren't as in the cloud."

Damon's eyes drifted back to the road, "Do you play music?"

"A bit."

"Let me guess: drums, bass and piano," Damon scoffed.

"And a little bit of flute," Addie inserted defensively. "I only did that for a couple years in middle school though. What about you?"

Damon grinned, "Oh, I've picked up an instrument. I don't really see the point in making music. I did pick up an instrument when I was in the war. I've played it every now and then since."

Addie looked at him, her lips pursed and echoed his statement of earlier, "Let me guess-"

Simultaneously the pair said guitar though Damon's voice was laced with smugness and Addie's with disgust.

"Why am I not surprised? The most cliche instrument of them all?"

Now Damon really did look offended and a bit upset, "Are you callin me cliche?"

Addie shrugged. "You're cliche for a vampire: rawr, fangs, 'I vant to drink your blood'" she said in a poor transylvanian accent. "You've got the black pants and the white top; all that's missing is your cape. Frankly those are out of style and a bit conspicuous so for all sense and purposes your black leather jacket screams cape." Holding herself regally, she spoke in the accent again, "You are Dracula personified. Seriously," she said with a burst of laughter at the random memory of the cemetery, " I'm not entirely convinced you can't turn into a dark winged animal, of course I see you more as a crow than a bat."

Damon stewed for a few minutes, "You're just jealous because you can't play the guitar."

Addie shook her head even though it was slightly true, "I wouldn't want to know how to play the guitar. Plenty of good music can be made without the overrate piece. Guitar makes everything sound so fake, so factory made."

"Mh-hmm," Damon nodded, unconvinced, "whatever you say."

It was a much more comfortable and companionable silence that filled the car until Damon drove in front of Addie's all-American two-story home to drop her off.

"Thanks for the ride," Addie chirped, grabbing her bag from between her feet and opening the door. Awkwardly and quietly she tacked on, "And, um, thanks for, thanks for just being there last night."

Quickly she shut the door and walked into the unlocked house. Just as she had barely reached the top of the stairs her phone buzzed against her hip.

**Demon: Anytime. I handled the death of my mother so bad I couldn't even go to the funeral. I refused to grieve and think about it for years. Not my wisest choice. Tell anyone any of this and I'll kill you. Delete this text now.**

Addie smiled softly to herself as she deleted the text. She couldn't understand how Damon had such little regard for who he took life from but still seem to have a heart, even if it was buried deep.

"Ad! Addie! Addie! Ooooooh my god," came the shrill familiar voice of her sister as she passed by her room. What Addie did not expect was her tiny teacher to have the strength to drag her into her frilly, girly room. The pink curtains were an assault on her eyes.

"Hello, Addie. Why don't you come in? Why don't you sit down? Nah, I'll just drag you in and shove you onto my bed," Addie rolled her eyes, settling on Elena's bed.

"No time," Elena asserted, sitting crisscross from Addie. "I met my birth mother today and I'm dying to talk!"

Addie rolled her eyes; of course it would e something about Elena. "Isn't the guy with the hair suppose to listen to you talk now? I mean, isn't that the point of a boyfriend?"

"I wanna talk to my sister," Elena whined, gripping Addie's shoulders and shaking her.

Addie swatted off her sister's hands before she began repeating the motion on Elena, "And I wanted my sister to go camping with Jenna and Jeremy and me like we do every year but some guy was more important." Addie pointed to the bag she had dropped on the floor, "Did you even notice I wasn't here last night? I doubt it. You're not even aware enough of anyone else to ask where I was upon seeing the fucking bag!"

Elena sighed impatiently, "Where were you?"

"That's not the point," Addie protested, slapping her hands on her knees. "You're asking to get my stuff out of the way so you can talk." Addie rolled her hands for Elena to continue, "Come on, out with it. It's not like everything already revolves around you; just Damon, Stefan, Gram's death, my brother acting like a computer programed to feel one emotion, Jenna and her concern about your adoption and if you blame her, Bonnie being kidnapped and used, Caroline feeling like she can't prove to Matt she's worthy of him after you, Matt still gah-gah over you. You know you have to add me to that list so go ahead and try; try and suck me into your world of in-fucking-sanity because it has to be all about you and all about the fact that you love a fucking vampire. You're my sister and I love you but I'm not sipping the Kool-aid that makes a person just another character in the book about you; I'm writing my own story."

Elen rubbed her temple with two fingers as if she was getting a headache, "Well, are you done with your soliloquy then?"

Addie nodded.

"There's something really fishy going on about my birth mom. First, Aunt Jenna told me her name was Isobel; Mr. Saltzman's wife was from around here and named Isobel but she'd dead. We found this friend of her's, Trudie Peterson that I went to go visit and first, she didn't invite me in and then she served me vervain tea. People don't randomly serve vervain. Oh, did I tell you Mr. Saltzman knows about vampires? That's kind of important."

"Read that in your diary," Addie yawned. "Don't scowl at me. It's the only way we communicate civilly. And if you want your secrets safe, don't use the same hiding spot for ten years."

Elena rolled her eyes and continued, "So, Trudie knows. She knows about the vampires and about Isobel's death. That's freaky."

Addie nodded slowly, "That's some freaky stuff, sis. Personally, I wouldn't go any closer; you know, like trying to find the vampire who ? Know that trouble and drama are drawn to you like magnets, you'll probably end up dead."

"But I have two vampires and a vampire hunter on my side," Elena inclined, giving her sister a small smile that eerily echoed the one Damon gave her waved her hand in the air moving on to another topic, "If you get to know Stefan, you'll like him. Bonnie likes him! I really want you to like him. Come out with us tonight! We're going to the bachelor fundraiser. We can giggle and snicker and list every problem we think each has that makes him a bachelor like always?" Elena begged, her voice rising at the end as if she were bribing Addie with a treat,

"I like Stefan just fine. I will go because these men probably degrade and judge women daily so it is our chance to do it tonight," Addie said coolly, as if logic dictated her reasoning but in truth she was excited that Elena had invited her to hangout with her and Stefan for once. She knew she'd be a third wheel but it was progress.

"You have to wear a dress."

"Will you stop that?" Elena hissed at her sister, who was yet again pulling up the strapless forestgrenn dress around the chest to only immediate tug it down at the A-line hem.

Addie was so frustrated with the scrap of cloth that she stopped a foot encased in a camouflage Converse. "I can't help it! I don't trust it to stay up but if I pull it up it feels too short."

"Pull it up how you want it," Caroline commanded from behind the podium where she stood selling raffle tickets. "Good, now arms pinned against your sides." She leaned around the odium to look at the younger girl. "Seriously, Addie? That's like two inches above your knee, three max. It's no where near slutsville."

"See?" Elena dictated, "I told you it would be fine. It fits me and I'm taller than you."

"You have more of a chest to hold it up," Addie countered, still worried about the dress falling.

"If you can't wear a dress now, you are not going to survive high school," Caroline said flatly.

Addie blinked at her slowly to see if she was serious, "Thankfully, I'm going to learn and not to win a popularity contest or Miss Mystic Falls because, you're right, I would simply die."

Caroline nodded and it took a great amount of restraint for Addie not to roll her eyes. She was thankful when Stefan said the first useful thing of the night.

"Look, there's Jenna. She's waving us over."

Addie felt a chill of foreboding runthrough her as she watched Damon taunt Mr. Saltzman about killing his wife in front of half the town. Soon Elena excused herself to get some air. Addie debated on following her sister, having seen the horror stricken look on her face but simply didn't know what to say.

"Your brother. Your girlfriend. Your _problem_. Your problem," Addie muttered out of the corner of her mouth to Stefan elbowing him in the ribs.

Right then, she was more concerned about the history teacher and that twisted, murderous look on his face. He had tried to get the jump on Stefan; there was no way he could take on Damon.

Once Damon left the stage Addie weaved through the crowd to reach him. "You're coming with me," she ordered, grabbing his wrist and leading him to a secluded back corner of the bar. She stood on her toes, ignoring that his eyes instantly traveled to her breast, and rested a hand against Damon's shoulder for balance while her free hand smacked the back of his head. "Did your brain die when you did?" she hissed.

Damon put up one finger, "First off, ow." He dropped his hand to the small of her back and stepped flush with her, "Secondly, you look stunning." His words were low and murmured how against her ear. Addie could smell that he had been drinking more than enough for a buzz. "Thirdly," he smirked, poking her nose and the leaning his head over hers so she had to look up at him, where he rested the tips of their noses together. When he spoke, Addie could feel his lips shifting the air above hers, "please don't do that again. And now you really shouldn't because I said please."

Addie was definitely certain his brain had died when he did, if she wasn't before. That or he had consumed so much alcohol that he had no idea what he was doing. She looked over Damon's face, his steel blue eyes were heavy lidded as they flash back and forth from Addie's eyes to her lips coated in a shimmery pink lip gloss Elena had smeared on her sister. With the reminder of her sister she placed her hands firmly on Damon's chest; she tried to ignore the faster fluttering of the butterflies in her stomach when she could feel Damon's heart beat was elevated. He wanted _Elena_. She had more self-respect than to be, well, whatever Damon probably wanted her to be for half an hour.

"Addison May Gilbert," a voice shrieked from their left. Both Addie and Damon were deeply bothered to find Elena staring back at them with hurt. Her hands quickly dropped from his chest and he was two steps back quicker than a heartbeat.

Addie looked at her sister with wide eyes, begging her to listen, "Elena I swear-"

"I expected better of you! You knew he killed my mother and here you are about to -"

"I'm not doing anything! I came over here to chew him out for killing Isobel and reminiscing about it right in front of you!"

Elena's voice raised, "Oh, yeah, that's definitely what it looked like!"

"You're the one jum-" Addie stopped talking when she saw Stefan step up.

"Let's just get out of here Elena," he stated, no room for disagreement in his tone.

Elena continued to glare daggers at her sister as Stefan led her away. Eventually the crowd was too thick for her to be seen anymore.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Damon asked still having a hard time wrapping his head around the idea.

Addie scoffed and wiped away a single tear from each cheek, "Why do you think I hit you?" More tears fell.

"Hey, hey, don't cry," Damon whispered, cradling her head in his hands and his thumbs swiping at every tear that fell. "It's me that she's mad at. She's just more use to being mad at you."

Addie shook her head, relishing the soft warmth of Damon's hands, "No. She sees that as a betrayal."

"But what she saw wasn't the truth," Damon pushed.

"She won't believe me," Addie choked back a sob at how much the idea hurt.

"She'll believe Stefan. We'll talk to Stefan; he won't believe me but he will believe you. He'll talk to Elena," Damon insisted, raking his fingers through Addie's hair. She had curled them a bit more for tonight, he had noticed. He had also noticed she played with her own hair when she was nervous and he hoped his doing it would calm her. He hated t deal with crying girls.

It seemed to work as Addie gave a soft, bitter chuckle, "I shouldn't have to play a game of telephone to get my own sister to believe me."

"I don't think I could play a game of any kind to get Stefan to believe me, if it makes you feel any better," Damon grinned,pulling her into a hug, still stroking her hair.

"It shouldn't but it does."

"Come on, let's get out of here," Damon suggested, already turning to lead her through the crowd.

Addie raised an eyebrow, "Don't you have to go be a piece of meat?"

"Nah, it's rigged. Carol Lockwood wants me," Damon smirked, waggling his eyebrows.

Addie trailed behind him and out into the night, "Don't know why anyone would find you a catch."

"I don't know why anyone would find you a catch," Damon mocked, sticking his tongue out at her as he opened her door.

Addie laughed, "Of course you wouldn't. You see Elena as a catch. You've got bad taste."

Addie was grateful when Damon drove them to the boardinghouse; she knew how volatile things could get between her and Elena when they both felt they were in the justified right, even if Addie could admit Damon and her had probably looked pretty cozy. She followed him inside when a copy of what looked like a first edition of _Wuthering Heights_ on a bookshelf. With the way his breath had smelt, she wasn't surprised to see Damon go fix himself a drink.

"Addie, come here, please," his tone was stiff and awkwardly formal. Curious, Addie hesitantly, slowly walked towards him as his back was turned to her. "Are you really this stupid?"

"What?" Addie stopped in her tracks puzzled.

Suddenly, she felt a long arm wrap around her, trapping her arms at her sides and she saw a hand dead center of her holding a stake. Addie wanted to scream but she couldn't fill her lungs up with enough air.

"Guess so." Damon turned around casually. "Let her go," he droned, waving the glass in his hand in a dismissive manner.

"So you can do to her like you did to my wife?" came the haggard voice of Mr. Saltzman, directly behind Addie.

"What exactly is it that you think I did to your wife," Damon said boredly, draining his glass.

Addie heard Mr. Saltzman lick his lips, " I saw you feeding on her."

"Yeah and I wasn't lying; she was delicious," Damon cautiously stepped closer to the pair. The main objective was to get Addie away from loser teacher and then kicked said guy's ass. Though the teacher had a manic look in his eye and a stake in his hand; Damon didn't know how far he was willing to go. "Oh, come on. What do you think happened?"

Mr. Saltzman arm tightened around her perceptively and his elbow drew back just a little more into her solar plexus.

"Not an inkling? Never considered the possibility?" Damon continued to taunt, still advancing.

"Damon," Addie couldn't help but whimper, feeling he was only making things worse.

"You'll be okay," Damon said calmly and sincerely, looking at her for the first time. When she gave him a slight nod he turned his focus back to the attacker. "I turned her."

Mr. Saltzman flipped the script on Damon by flipping the stake so it just pressed below Addie's solar plexus and was pointed at a lung.

"Why?"

Maybe if he could make him angry enough at him, he'd forget about Addie, Damon contemplated. "She came to me, all pathetic, looking for was something about her. Something I liked. There was something special."

"You turned her because you liked her?"

"No, I slept with her because I liked her. I turned her because she begged me to," Damon gloated. "Yeah. But you knew that too, didn't you?"

"Gahhh!"Addie cried out as much as she was able to as she felt the stake tear through skin then though the tough tendons of muscles, finally jabbing a hole in her lung.

In a second Damon had ripped Mr. Saltzman off and sent him across the room her but she felt the movement drive the wood a little deeper, making the hole in her lung a little bit bigger. Damon lifted her and laid her out on the couch. With just a tug he pulled out the impaling object. Addie groaned loudly, her hand flying over the wound and tears pouring down her face. She saw Damon bite his wrist but over his shoulder there was movement.

"Behind you," she ground out, keeping her breaths shallow as it was less painful.

Mr. Saltzman had picked up a fire poker but it clatter to the ground as Damon yanked him by the arm so hard, he practically made Mr. Saltzman spin into his arms. Damon didn't even have to think to make sure he aligned the stake with a lung before plunging it in so much that the tip came out the back.

"Doesn't the Hammurabi code say something about a lung for a lung," Damon snarled, dropping Mr. Saltzman to the ground. He was already wheezy hard and fighting for every breath.

Damon sat on the edge of the couch next to Addie and bit his wrist again, it having already healed in just the few moments it took for him to kill Alaric Saltzman. He brought his bleed arm down towards Addie who used one hand to cover her mouth and another to knock his away with as much force as she could.

"What the hell? He got your lung! You're bleeding into it; I can hear it. You're going to die if you don't drink my blood," Damon growled, trying to force the blood near her again, only to have her repeatedly knock him away each time he tried.

"Stop, Damon. I have a few minutes to decide; it's not a major major leak," Addie voice came muffled from under her bloody hand. "Promise not to go shoving blood in my mouth so we can talk."

Damon nodded slowly; he was a master at breaking promises.

Once Addie saw his hand was in his lap, she went back to applying pressure on her wound with both hands.

"You're gonna let me die, Damon," Addie said matter-of-factly.

Damon shook his head repeatedly, "No."

"It's my life; it's my time to go," Addie insisted, nodding.

"Six, seven months ago you were terrified when I tried to kill you and you actually told me to kill you," Damon snapped.

Addie tried to take a deep breath but ended up coughing, "Since then I've _taken control of my life._ I was afraid to face death then but taking control of my life mean taking control of my death. I'm not going to try and find a way to cheat it. I hate this supernatural crap; it would be hypocritical of me to let it save me."

"And what am I supposed to tell your family?" Damon rolled his eyes. She was delusional with blood lost.

"Compel Jenna and Jeremy to believe I got a full scholarship at some boarding in England. A really good one. That's always been my dream. Let Elena know the truth; she needs to know this can happen to her. I always blamed her for the darkness since Stefan came into her life but really, I got my ownself killed. All this time I thought you would eat me or snap my neck in a fit," she coughed out a laugh, her eyelids sliding close. "Didn't know it would be a pissed off husband/history teacher that ended me."

"Well, your blood does smell pretty good. I can finish you that way if you prefer," Damon attempted at a joke.. A smile fluttered across Addie's lips. "Ads? Addie! Answer me, damn it," Damon muttered, his fingers flying to her pulse where it tapped weakly.. Coma the last step of hypovolemia. He pressed his forehead to hers, debating on if he respected on if her respected her wishes or was selfish.

* * *

**A/N: Here's the ~50k I had written. Obviously I changed the ending so it seems more complete. You can decide what Damon does/doesn't do. With over 100 followers I should be hearing something back or it's just completely average. It's been ~25k words since I said I would be stopping if interest didn't increase and I only got 4 reviews since so there's my answer. If you guys decide this is above average and you actually want more, just put a period in the review box. Not even asking for an actual comment. I'm going on a cruise and won't be able to see the status of this chapter so if there are 10 by the time I get back in a week I will continue.**


	10. Chapter 13

Cold. She was so cold. Cold. She was so cold. It felt as if ice was rushing through her veins. And her lungs felt like they had that one time her dad had taken her scuba diving in the lake by the cabin and she came up too fast; were they going to explode or crush? The pressure in her head was equally intense and cold. She tried to raise her tongue to the roof of her mouth, a cure for brain freezes her sister had taught her several years ago, but found she couldn't move the muscle. Slowly she became aware of voices but they sounded as if Addie was trying to hear them from underwater. What felt like ages began to give way to some clarity.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" she interpreted of the brighter sounding voice. "First her mom and now her sister? Are you just hellbent on killing every member of Elena's family? Who's next: Jenna or Jeremy?"

The darker, bitter voice was flippant, "I told you I didn't do it. The history teacher went all psycho and stabbed her."

"Yeah and you couldn't have stopped him if you wanted to, right Damon? He was just too strong," Stefan sarcastically snarled.

"Nope," Damon cheekily responded, popping the 'p', "I tried but the guy was a loose canon."

"That was your fault for taunting him about how you killed his wife right in front of everyone!" Stefan snapped in exasperation.

"Nah; he needed to work on anger management. You'll take care of the body, yeah," Damon more commanded than questioned. Addie felt herself being lifted by what felt like an arm under her knees and another supporting her neck. His voice came out so near that she was definitely certain Damon was holding her, "Of course I wouldn't let Elena's sister die. She's been through enough pain with her adoptive parents. But I refuse to feel guilty about her birth mom. She gave her up; she wasn't a mom.

Addie was jostled just enough to tell that Damon was climbing stairs but for the most part he had a very solid and secure grip on her that she wouldn't have expected. She tried to open her eyes, make a sound, jerk in protest of being carried but her body felt too weak. Addie heard the opening and shutting of a door just moments before she was aware of Damon laying her down on a very soft bed, her head propped up by pillows. The cold silk sheets seemed to brush nearly all of her skin. Of course; she was in Elena's scrap of a dress. If only she had worn something more sensible maybe she wouldn't be so cold.

The bed dipped next to her and cool, calloused fingers brushed hair off her forehead and behind her ear. "Ads," Damon said gently, the backs of his fingers stroking Addie's cheek.

She tried to respond; tried to make even the slightest movement to show that she had heard him.

Damon's voice cracked as he pleaded with her unresponsive form, "Come on, Addie. Wake up. Please don't make me…."

Addie laid there for long, agonizing minutes wondering what Damon would do if she didn't respond. She was fighting to but every muscle was just to heavy and stiff to move. Until she felt Damon slightly open her mouth and press something against it. Her throat flexed, swallowing the cool, metallic liquid that trickled into her mouth. Addie could feel her throat and stomach warming from the inside out as the fluid passed through them. Desperate for warmth, she was pleasantly surprised to find her lips sucking at the thing pressed against her, certain that it was a cure.

"There you go," Damon crooned, cradling her head up more so she didn't choke on his blood. When he saw her hand rising towards his arm, he pulled his bloody wrist away. "That's more than enough," he murmured, wiping the blood from around her mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Noooo," Addie argued feebly, slowly opening her eyes to find herself locked in a gaze with Damon.

"Yes," Damon said in a mockingly weak voice. "It's plenty to heal you. More would work faster but it would also take longer to leave your system. I'm already going to have to make you my prisoner for a day."

"Prisoner?" she said confusedly, her fingers, still chilled, twisting in the black sheets.

Damon nodded as he stood up and worked the blankets out from under Addie before pulling them up around her neck, "Yeah. I have to make sure you don't die with my blood in your system. I didn't save you just to have Elena pissed at me for turning her little sister into a vampire."

Addie squeezed her eyes shut to try and hold back the tears that threatened to come forth. It always came back to Elena. The memory of her asking Damon to let her die came back. Damon taunting Mr. Saltzman, Elena and her fighting at the Grill, Damon drunk and about to kiss her. It all came back. And everything always came back to -

"Elena," Addie mumbled in disgust. She wanted to argue with Damon; yell at him for not respecting her wishes and set the record straight that she was just fine on her own and would not be his prisoner. Yet, he was Damon the Vampire and she was just a girl. He'd always get what he'd want.

Addie turned away from Damon and closed her eyes. Her lungs still felt odd and as she pulled the blankets up to her eyes, she wondered if she would ever be warm again.

Damon stared at Addie as she ignored him. This wasn't what he expected. She was probably still recovering from having almost died but he had still anticipated more indignation and outrage from her at his actions. The Addie he knew would be chewing him out for saving her life, for killing her teacher, for his transgressions at the Mystic Grill. This Addie was meek and weak. It was almost as if… but that wasn't possible; she hadn't actually died.

"Aren't you pissed at me?" Damon asked bluntly, starting to get annoyed,

"No," Addie sighed, still not facing him.

Damon grit his teeth together, knowing she was lying, "Why not?"

"You were just doing what you thought was right. Thank you," Addie said softly.

Damon shook his head slowly, thoroughly confused, "You're not compelled anymore, are you?"

"Sorry?" Addie questioned, giving him a frightened look over her shoulder. That was all the confirmation he needed.

"How the hell…" he trailed off, standing to pace his room.

Damon knew when people died but reawoke to begin transitioning to a vampire, that could break compulsion. His death or his verbal command were the only other ways that Addie could have broken free of his compulsion. She wore vervain but that didn't protect her from the compulsion that he had placed her under when they first met, when he had ordered her to take control of her life. How was it that now she was back to the weak and insecure girl he had met that night in the rain? What had caused the compulsion to break?

Addie's stomach twisted in knots over and over again each time she heard Damon turn to begin pacing to the other side of the room again. What had he meant that he had compelled her? She didn't ever recall being compelled. And now she somehow wasn't compelled? What did that mean? She pulled the black silk comforter over her head, driven by a sudden desire to disappear from the world, starting with the streams of sunlight streaking Damon's room.

Damon crossed his arms as he leaned back against the doorframe of his spacious bathroom. Damn if he hadn't gone and shot himself in the foot with a wooden bullet again; though this time he really had no idea how it had happened. Watching Addie burrow in his bed he realized that his compelling her to take control of her life was just a Band-Aid for a bigger problem. Rip the plaster off and the wound still bled; she was still in a million pieces and worse, he could smell the fear she secreted in the form of adrenaline.

He didn't like her like this. She wasn't his Little Ads. She was boring.

"Take off the bracelet," Damon snapped, yanking the covers from over Addie's torso.

Her ocean blue eyes went wide as she shook her head, clutching her wrist to her chest, "No."

"Take. It. Off," Damon snarled and hissed, fighting with Addie for her wrist. He growled as the vervain treated leather ate at his fingers like acid but he eventually worked the strap free, having to practically hold Addie down to keep her from fighting him. He saw the terror fill her eyes and if he was a better person he would have felt guilt but he was selfish and that's how he enjoyed life. "Take control of your life," he ordered, staring deep into her eyes.

"Take control of my life," Addie echoed, her eyes unfocused and distant.

A resounding crack filled the room as Addie's hand made contact with Damon's cheek. Normally she'd preach that violence was never the answer but he had gone way too far.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? How can you possibly be pigheaded enough to think you have any right to compel me about how to run my life?" Addie demanded as she kneeled to tower over Damon, too angry to be bothered by the rising hem of Elena's dress.

"See?" he grinned smugly, rubbing at his bright red cheek. "Doesn't that feel so much better than hiding under the covers?"

"I don't know, Damon! Does it?! You said the exact same thing to me the first night we met and it was like overnight I was a completely new person. I asked you if you had ever compelled me! I told you I felt out of control. I asked if you were capable of telling the truth and you said you were!" Addie yelled, using Damon's shoulders as props to keep herself balanced so that she was higher than him for once.

Damon shrugged roughly, upsetting Addie's balance and sending her flopping on his bed. "You're so much more fun, this way, you know? It works more right away rather than overnight Don't be mad about the compulsion; I'm making your life better. Look at it this way: now you get to see Elena go all red and screamy over something as stupid as a ruined dress. WIthout me, you never would have lived to see that entertainment."

"Fun? Better? Entertainment?" sputtered Addie shaking her head with disgust.

Damon laughed, looking down at Addie. He had always wondered how she would respond if she found out he had compelled her.

"Come on," he said encouragingly; he couldn't resist teasing her. "You're a smart girl. You can string words together to form sentences." He poked the raw, red flesh just where the dress was torn. The blood from the wound was still fresh enough that some clinged to his finger as he pulled away. It was odd that it was still so warm, he reflected as he rubbed the small amount of liquid between his thumb and forefinger. As he peered at it closer he realized another strange characteristic to Addie's blood; it smell extremely sweet. Each person had their own scent but he had never smelled blood so sweet. A rare and always unwelcome occurrence swept over him as a memory for his human life consumed him.

He held open the screen door as seven-year-old Stefan waddled past him and into the house. Damon shot out a hand to steady the large, heavy fruit cradled in his brother's arms, small and still slightly pudgy with baby fat.

"Don't drop it!" he exclaimed in fear for what must have been the hundredth time since they had started the trek home from Mrs. Elizabeth Forbes' vegetable patch.

Every few weeks in the summer the town gathered together one evening to eat and trade the latest gossip while the kids enjoyed an excuse to play outside until stars and moonlight were the only light. This dinner part of what Mrs. Salvatore was making happened to be Damon's favorite, fruit salad with fresh vanilla custard. His mother wouldn't make the custard until they had all gathered in the town square but the dicing of the fruit was always done in the late afternoon. Other mothers took turns making the fruit salad but Damon always thought his mom made the best; she was the only one who served it in a watermelon bowl. No matter what slice of fruit you ate there was always a slight hint of watermelon.

Damon was always entrusted with the special task of selecting the biggest, healthiest looking watermelon from Mrs. Forbes' garden. This particular morning, Stefan had pleaded and pestered until Damon finally caved and let him tag along. Sometimes having a little brother was cool but now Stefan just wanted to follow him everywhere. Showing Marie Fell his secret swimming hole with Stefan chattering beside him and being the main focus of Marie's attention was not Damon's idea of a good time. Stefan could also be whiny; he had started to cry when Damon went to pick the right watermelon off the vine. The blubbering only stopped when the larger watermelon Stefan wanted was picked. It's color wasn't right; it wasn't ripe enough and it would be too tart. His little brother again began to pitch a fit when Damon said he was too small to carry the 20lbs fruit the two miles back to the house. Stefan had to lean his head around the melon to even see where he was going. Again, it was either walk across town with his brother making a scene or to let him have his way. Damon felt like he always let Stefan get his way.

"Here, Momma!" Stefan said proudly, presenting the watermelon to their mother who stood in kitchen dicing peaches from their backyard.

"Why thank you, baby boy! Wow!" smiled Lily Salvatore, gasping with slight exaggeration as she took the fruit from her youngest son. "You're so strong to carry this! It looks so yummy. Did you pick it out?"

"Uh-huh," Stefan grinned.

Damon stalked to the kitchen table, "Don't baby him. It's gonna be too sour."

"Damon," Lily chastised her eldest, giving him a scornful look, "your brother did a fine job! It will taste perfect. I'll need you to pick me a few more of the softer peaches."

Damon glowered. He knew the extra peaches were to hide the tartness of the watermelon. He was never coddled like Stefan was. It'd just be Stefan's loss if his parents wanted to treat him like a baby. He'd grow up to be a nancy pants sissy like crazy Jonathan Gilbert. At least Stefan would be able to spit seeds like a man, Damon grinned to himself as he watched his mother cut off the top fourth of the watermelon.

"Mom, can Stef and I have the top?" Damon asked, already making his way to grab for it.

Lily pulled the piece of fruit closer to her with the carving knife. "You know you're allergic to watermelon."

"It's not like it's going to kill me," Damon insisted. "I'll be really itchy and look like I have two busted lips for a couple of days. I'm tired of just getting the aftertaste, once it's touched all the other fruits."

"Fine," Lily sighed, slicing up the piece her son had wanted so that her sons could hold it and eat it, "but I don't want to hear one word of complaint when you're scratching yourself raw."

Damon grinned widely as he passed his mother a plate to place the fruit onto, "Deal."

He and Stefan were in the backyard for hours as Damon taught his little brother how to spit a watermelon seed at least 20 feet. Damon was right; the fruit was on the sour side but he never stopped to pick the extra peaches. He taught him how to balance the flat of the seed on the tip of his tongue and the back edge of his bottom lip before sucking in a deep breath through his nose and exhaling through a small gap through his lips, almost as if he were whitelisting. For the first hour Stefan could spit no farther than five feet. Damon definitely felt it was one of the cool times to have a little brother when Stefan showed off his new skill that night and bragged about how his brother had taught him, even if Marie Fell found it gross. Damon didn't even regret teaching Stefan as his whole face was puffy from eating so much watermelon and hives broke out across his hands and in his mouth for handling the fruit for so long.

After that reaction, watermelon always smelled sickly sweet to him; even though Stefan would pick the tartest on Mrs. Forbes' vines. The years past and he began to detest the sickly sweet taste that hid in his mother's fruit salad. It didn't bother him that he became more and more sensitive to the fruit, eventually so that it's juice on other fruits would cause hives. The only time Damon hated that watermelon had turned sickly sweet and that he was allergic to it was also the only time he regretted ever teaching Stefan how to spit a watermelon seed; when Stefan taught Katherine Pierce how to spit a watermelon seed.

Sickly sweet; that's how her blood smelled. He didn't think it was possible to be allergic to blood as a vampire but he was almost certain that Addie's blood would range from the sweet intoxication he use to get from watermelon to something poisonous all at once.

"Should I bother putting this back on or are you just going to rip it off again and compel me to let you munch on my jugular," Addie's snarling voice cut through his thoughts.

Damon looked back at her and the vervain treated leather she dangled between two fingers. Addie's eyes were focus on his fingers smeared with her blood. Quickly, feeling like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Damon wiped his hand on his pants.

"i'm not compelling you to do anything else. Except maybe act like a rational person if you don't," Damon shrugged, trying not to look distracted. "And I have no intention of drinking your blood. It's far too sweet for my taste."

Addie watched Damon through narrowed eyes as she struggled to fasten the leather band back on her left wrist using only her right hand. Call her stupid but she did trust enough that he wasn't going to hurt her, at least not at the moment. He'd just saved her from the brink of death. Though he had definitely looked lustfully at her blood between his fingers for a few moments, it quickly passed and his face was composed of repulsion and curiosity. She was safe; he was just an egotistical, arrogant dickhead.

"You're confusing fun with reckless and out of control. A stupid, careless person thinks they can actually find something of value in a monster like you and hopes it might just be possible to befriend the ultimate predator. A person who acts without thinking, someone out of control, is the only person that would be senseless enough to slap a vampire, even if said vampire deserved far worse for abusing his powers of compulsion. Of course should I suspect anything better from someone who has killed both my history teachers in cold blood for no reason!" Addie stated venomously.

Damon placed a hand low on Addie's hip, slightly pushing her into the mattress. He leaned close to her, dropping his head below hers and forcing her deep blue eyes to meet his lighter ones. When he spoke, he made sure to be firm but as honest sounding as possible.

" Remember the news? A big mountain lion killed Tanner and all those other people who died around that time," Damon said innocently, a twinkle in his light blue eyes. "As for what I did to Saltzman, that wasn't cold blood; he, well, he would have killed you first had I not been there to save you with my blood. Then he was coming after me. Call it a combination of protectiveness and self-defense that drove me to kill him."

"You must really think me stupid if you expect me to buy that," Addie blinked at him blankly. "They were both defenseless victims against you Damon! I don't buy what the news says about a damn mountain lion because I'm sitting in front of the real predator."

"No. I didn't really think you would but it was worth a shot. Everyone else bought the mountain lion story," Damon shrugged.

"Thank's because they don't have the misfortune of knowing you," sneered Addie.

Damon closed his eyes in frustration before slowly opening and locking gazes again. His voice dropped to something almost resembling fondness and tenderness, if Addie didn't know better. "As for everything you have done, that's not recklessness. That's not being out of control. All I've done is bring out the fight you keep buried deep inside you face the next day. I've watched you ever since we met. You can't hide from me that you haven't been nearly as depressed as you were before. You found the strength to go to therapy to handle the loss of your parents and your depression. You admitted you were flawed enough to read self-help books and strong minded enough to put the offered information to use. Before you never would have been so fiercely protective of your siblings and your relationships with them. Before me, you never tried to mend things with Jeremy after your parents died. I've heard straight from Elena how much closer you two are. You can try and deny it but I've been on the receiving end of how concerned about your sister you are; I don't think you would have made such the effort to show it in the past.

"You hang around a vampire because of his good looks, his styles, his charm, and his unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift. You spend time with we because you're smart enough not to cross me; not to mention a part of you knows I've earn your trust. You know you're safe with me. You call me out into the middle of the night because just as much as you think I want a friend, you want me as a friend. You're bold enough to call me out on my crap because when you're in control of your life, you're not going to let anyone, not even someone as fearsome as me, walk all over you."

Addie shook her head, "I will never forgive you for compelling me, Damon. It's immoral to do such a thing. Erasing people's minds is one thing but completely altering who I am is beyond explainable or justifiable. I know you think humans are your playthings to do with as you please but we actually have feelings. It's not right for you to take them away and play God. I always knew you were a deadly, ruthless monster, Damon but finding out that you have compelled me because you like me better some way, you are a horrible, heartless person."

Damon pulled away and stood up, "Doesn't really matter what you think. I'm not having you turn into a baby vamp on my watch." He riffled through the black wood dresser and pulled out a black t-shirt and a pair of black boxershorts. Rolling them into a loosely packed ball, he sent them gliding through the air and over to Addie. "That will cover you better than the dress you keep tugging at, pull it's not bloodstained."

Addie looked back at Damon pointedly. He looked back at her blankly.

"Aren't you going to give me some privacy?" she said snarkily, detesting the idea of being locked up with Damon.

"Bathroom's all yours," he responded overly gracious, gesturing grandly to the adjoining bathroom.

"There's no door, jackass. Besides you can't keep me here all night; Jenna will wonder where I am," Addie pointed out logically, crossing her arms in front of her, as if that settled the matter.

Damon leaned against his dresser and mirrored Addie's arm movements, "I broke into your phone and texted Elena that you were spending the night at Caroline's. I know you and her aren't bosom buddies but considering Elena looked like she wanted to kill you, I figured you chances of dying were less if you stayed here rather than going home. Elena will tell your aunt where she thinks you are."

"You know, I'd be mad about you unlocking my phone but I've learned my feelings and opinions have no affect on you. Have I mentioned that you're also an idiot?" Addie inquired, cocking her head at Damon's arrogant form. "Elena is going to surmise exactly where I am. She thinks we're close, which we so are not anymore, but I'm her sister and I would never want to hurt her so I have to make it look like we arent close. Hence, I would lie and say I'm hiding out at Caroline's while she is pissed off at me for what happened at the Grill when she should be pissed at you. By the way," Addie smirked, "what was your drunken ass thinking back there?"

Damon rolled his blue eyes. "You're overthinking something very simple; Elena will not give the lie a second thought. As for what I was doing, well," Damon shrugged innocently, "I was baiting Rick about his wife. Granted, I didn't know the relation to Elena at the time."

"I'm not talking about that, Damon. I mean, what did you think you were doing when Elena came over to us? You know, the whole reason my sister is pissed off at me?" Addie admonished, waving her hand around in the air for effect.

Damon rub the back of his neck awkwardly, "No idea what you're talking about, Ads." Damon hid his slightly redden cheeks and headed towards the door, "Call out when you've finished changing."

Addie nodded to Damon's retreating back. When the door clicked into place, she slid from the warm, soft comfort of his bed and began to peel of the forest green dress that she had felt so self conscious in all night. A hiss of pain escaped her lips as the area of the dress soak with blood had to be sharply tugged away from her skin. She walked to Damon's bathroom and found a stack of burgundy washcloths. She wet the corner of one with warm water and squirt a pump of hand soap over the wet patch. Using the damp section of the cloth, she rubbed away the blood that was in between her sternum and ribs and what had spilled down her stomach. Finally cleaned of the blood, she laid the cloth out flat to dry. Spying a bottle of listerine and Dixie cups, she rinsed out the lingering metallic taste in her mouth before she returned to the room and pulled on the clothes Damon had offered her.

"Done," she grumbled as she slid back into the bed, know that Damon could hear her, despite her quiet voice.

Damon strolled back into the room, extra pillows and a blanket curled under an arm, which he deposited on the chaise in the corner. Figuring he would sleep there, she scooched to the middle of his large bed and turned away from him and curled up for sleep.

"Entertainment will be telling Elena I tossed that dress in the fire. Will you light one in the morning?" Addie questioned suddenly groggy and tired.

"Only if you promise to tell me about her reaction," smiled Damon.

Addie shook her head against the pillow, "Not worth it. I'm done with you as soon as you let me go, Damon."

Damon tugged at his hair in frustration. "Night, Ads. Don't go rolling of the bed and cracking your skull open and dying on me in the middle of the night," he half-joked as he flipped off the lamp next to the bed, the only source of light in the room.

Damon stretched out on the chaise, using pillows to prop himself up and the soft blue blanket to cover himself. Something felt deeply wrong. there was a tugging deep in the pit of his stomach. almost like a burn the slight burn of hunger, though he was full. It reminded him of when he left Stefan at the train station during World War II, to go off and fight without out his protection. He was suppose to watch out for his little brother but Lexi said the best way he could do that was to leave him alone. Was he suppose to let Addie go off without him?

* * *

**A/N: Wow! Your responses to the last chapter and the possible ending was overwhelming that I have decided to continue! What's up with Addie remembering being compelled when she shouldn't? Any theories? (I promise she's not going to turn into something invincible or anything). Will she make up with Elena? Damon? Also, do you guys like the flashbacks Damon and Addie have before they met each other? Particularly Damon in his human life? I can't decide if they fit or if I should just write them out as one-pieces. **


	11. Chapter 14

Things between Addie and Elena were colder than absolute zero. The sisters avoided one another as much as possible. In the weeks since the Most Eligible Bachelor's of Mystic Falls, the closest encounter the two had shared was when Elena asked Jeremy if he was ok, while Addie held his crying had just found out that Vickie was dead. He confided in Addie that he believe she had become a vampire, based on all the books he read from Anna, who he confessed was a vampire, though Addie already knew that. Addie wasn't even interested in what was going on in her sister's life and had stayed clear of her diary. She didn't want to read about how awful she was or read any crap about vampires. As far as she was concerned, they were just a passing phase in her life and she would never have to deal with them again. Damon seemed to get the message as he wasn't harassing her anymore. She was curious to figure out how her history teacher came back to life, and not as a vampire, but not enough so to go asking Elena, Damon, or Stefan.

Addie and Jeremy were doing well, on the hand. Except they were currently trying to walk down the stairs at the same time, each with their backpack slung over their right shoulder.

"Watch it," Addie scoffed, pushing her way in front of her brother.

Jeremy used and elbow and shoulder to barricade Addie's. "You watch it, Ad!" he mocked, making his way in front of her.

It was slow progress down the stairs as each fought to be in front of the other. Halfway down the stairs Elena opened the door and all the Gilbert children and their Aunt Jenna were greeted by their Uncle John at the front door.

"Elena," he said cheerily, a toothy smile plastered to his face.

"Uncle John! Hi," Elena respond in a bit of shock and confusion.

His smile flashed to the next person closest to him but his voice wasn't so upbeat, "Jenna."

"John, you made it," Jenna acknowledge, sounding a bit disappointed.

Uncle John's smile didn't falter, "I said I'd be here before noon."

"Oh, what you say and what you do are typically two very different things," quipped Jenna.

"Uncle John!" Addie and Jeremy beamed together. Jeremy gave a casual "what's up" while Addie shove past her brother one last time and leaped down the last few steps to hug her uncle.

Jeremy clapped her uncle on his shoulder and walked out of the house. Addie took that as her cue to follow.

"I'll see you later, Uncle John," she grinned before chasing down the driveway to Jeremey.

It had been two weeks since Vickie's body had been discovered and she was kind of worried about her brother. She was seeing signs of the sullen sulky him again. Addie was glad that he wasn't a programed computer and was feeling emotions but she was afraid the compulsion would wear off and he would remember everything he saw the night Vickie died. Admittedly, she didn't think him strong enough to handle it.

"How ya' doing today?" she asked, looping her arm around one of Jeremy's as they walked towards the bus stop together.

She heard him sigh and felt his shoulder raise and fall in a shrug next to her, "Same. I haven't heard crap from the police. Everyone just wants to believe Vickie OD'd but she was _buried, _Addie. Someone had to do that. I'm telling you, someone killed her."

Addie didn't want Damon knowing the answer to any of his speculations.

"You're right about someone burying her but maybe they just found her and freaked."

Jeremy looked at her as if she was being ridiculous.

"You're right; even I can't force myself to believe that and I didn't even like the girl."

Jeremy tugged at the loose plait that hung down her back, "Has anyone ever told you not to speak ill of the dead?"

"Does that included vampires," Addie spookily grinned wiggling her arms out in front of her.

"You're such a dork," Jeremy laughed nudging his little sister's shoulder. "It's ghost that move like that."

"I know but the only trademark saying or gesture of a vampire is 'I vant to suck your blood' and I couldn't really work that in. Speaking of vampires, Mr. Saltzman was pretty impressed by your paper," Addie remarked casually.

Stefan had told Addie the morning following the apparent death of her history that he hadn't in fact died but was saved by some magical ring from his wife, Elena's birth mother. Most of her was relieved that Damon hadn't killed yet another person but a part of her couldn't help but understand why Damon did what he did. Had Damon not been a vampire, Mr. Saltzman would not have almost killed Addie. Of course, if Damon was less of an asshole or she had the sense to stay away from vampires then he wouldn't have almost killed her either. At least Mr. Saltzman had apologized after school on the first day back from the winter break.

"Yeah. It was an interesting topic so it was easy to write about. I got the idea from Anna; she showed me this whole section of Mystic Falls folklore at the library. It's complete nonsense but it was fun to write as if they were real. It wasn't even like doing extra credit," Jeremy smirked, leaning against the stop sign that marked their bus stop.

Addie looked at him skeptically, "You sure you don't believe? I read that journal by Jonathan Gilbert that you used and he definitely seemed to believe. Gilbert insanity might just be hereditary on the Y chromosome."

"Very funny," Jeremy glowered, sticking his tongue out at Addie.

* * *

It was a rare occasion that Addie and Elena both had the door open to the bathroom at the same time, particularly during the Cold War they were facing off. Addie hadn't closed it when she left Elena's room earlier and almost always forgot to close her own, as she felt she had nothing to hide and Elena's side was almost close. However, when Elena came home she either didn't notice the door was open or she didn't bother to shut it. Addie didn't particularly care what her ever-so-perfect sister did as long as she didn't enter Addie's room. It wasn't Addie's fault if she could hear everything that went on in Elena's room.

"Ah, just like I remember," purred a silky, perverted voice.

If Addie wasn't in such an intense Pokemon battle on her old Gameboy DS, she would have gotten up just to shut the door and not hear his voice. Her sister and Damon were the main reasons she was faking a stomachache to get out of attending the Founders' Day celebration later that night.

Addie could almost visualize Elena's eyes rolling with her next statement, "Stop messing around."

"Did you know that your uncle has been kicking it with the Founder's Council?" Damon said with that smug, arrogant tone that appeared when he always spoke of something others knew nothing about.

Addie finished off the boss as Elena incredulously inquired, "What?"

"Yep," Damon chirped as Addie stood and stretched.

Walking to her sister's bathroom doorframe she heard Elena say, "Perfect, we'll just add it to the growing list of how everything is falling apart."

"Frankly, I think Uncle John on the council is a wonderful thing. We still have two rabid vampires running around and someone needs to take care of the vermin in this town," Addie relaxed against the frame nonchalantly, inspecting her nails for nonexistent dirt.

Elena took a menacing step towards her sister, "You should just shut the hell up and mind your own damn business."

The two sisters glared at each other, speaking for the first time since the night Damon boasted about feeding on Elena's birth mom in front of half the town.

"I'm sure Stefan will be glad to know you're cozying up to his brother, just like Katherine did. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get lucky and one of them will be stupid enough to turn you and Uncle John can stake all three of you." Addie shrugged and added, almost as if it were an afterthought, " And just because I'm you're sister, I'll request that he burn the three lovebirds together."

Damon took in Addie's fierce, offensive intrusion with great interest. He couldn't read if she was pissed more at him or at Elena. None the less, he liked this dark side of her. He could see Elena getting ready to strike back and didn't feel like being in a cat fight.

"Well, too bad you can't tell John anything he doesn't already know. He knows what Stefan and I are," Damon grinned wickedly.

Addie shrugged, "I expected as much. John is smart; that's probably the reason he's the only relative I like. Although I can tell Elena something she doesn't know about her father, but that wouldn't be much fun wouldn't it? Do you really deserve to know if you can't make 2 plus 2 equal 4 my dear sister." Addie smiled far too innocently and sweetly before returning to her room, making sure both bathroom doors were closed.

It hadn't taken her long after seeing Uncle John's ring to figure out that he was Elena's father. If her speculation wasn't enough, the baby photos of Uncle John next to those of Elena confirmed it. Elena looking nothing like their mother but a good deal like their father made perfect sense.

* * *

The slamming of a door startled Addie from a deep sleep. Glancing at her alarm clock she saw that it was only a quarter to nine; her family would still be at the Lockwoods Founders' celebration party. As footsteps thundered up the stairs she stealthy crossed her room and grabbed the heaviest object she could find; a 1st place trophy for the regional 2 mile run from her previous year in track. Hearing Elena's door open, she crept into their adjoined bathroom and raised the trophy like a baseball bat before silently opening the door that connected to Elena's room.

"Jeremy?" she cried out in surprise, dropping the trophy to her side.

Her brother briefly looked over his shoulder before turning back to rifle through Elena's dresser drawers, "Were you really going to defend yourself against an intruded with _that?_"

"It has a marble base, the pillars are sterling silver and gold plated and the ornament is solid gold," Addie defended her choice of weapon. "It would cause enough damage to incapacitate someone."

"Not if they had a gun," Jeremy muttered, moving to another drawer.

Addie strolled over to her brother and placed a hand on her hip, know she was about to win this argument, "So you want me to walk around with a loaded pistol all the time?"

Jeremy scoffed and bit back a laugh, "Have you seen your Call of Duty scores? You'd kill yourself."

"So exactly how do you propose I protect myself, oh wise one?"

"Trophy is fine," Jeremy responded distractedly, his search becoming more frantic.

Addie rolled her eyes, "I'm probably going to regret this but I do know this room 100 times better than you; what are you looking for?"

"Your sister's diary," Jeremy said simply.

Addie walked to the bookshelf and pulled out a copy of _Sense and Sensibility_ that hid her diary from view. Tossing the book to her brother her eyebrows furrowed as she frowned, "I don't think she's my sister anymore. I'm fairly certain we've decided to disown each other. I'm a traitour whore and she's just the perfect saint who can't be associated with such filth."

Jeremy looked at his sister confused, "I knew you guys were being cold to each other, well, more than usual but what are you talking about?"

Addie nodded to the small book her brother held, "You can hear the only side anyone will believe in there. That book will answer all your questions; even the ones about Vickie."

Addie scurried back into her room before her brother could say anything. She laid in bed for hours tossing and turning. Had she done the right thing by giving him the diary? She and Elena knew what was out there; didn't he deserve to know, too? Though she knew he would be so hurt when he read about Vickie's death and Elena's role. She didn't want that but she knew how angry she was at Damon still for messing with her free will that she felt Jeremy should have all his memories, or at least know they were taken from him. Or was that the damn compulsion she was under that made her give Jeremy the diary? It was so hard to separate what was really her choice and what was a decision based on the compulsion to _take control of her life_.

* * *

Caroline eagerly linked arms with Addie as they exited Algebra 2 together. Addie was a bit ahead in math so it was nice to have someone she knew in her class, even if it was Caroline. She spaced out, adding the appropriate nodded and single syllable of agreement or disagreement when needed but she was quite tired of hearing about the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. It had been all Caroline would talk about for the past two weeks, with the occasional pause to discuss Matt Donovan, which wasn't much better. She trusted Caroline to not let her walk into any poles or people and only joined reality when her companion gave a shriek of delight and bounded away from her. Addie spotted what Caroline had and a broad smile erupted on her face.

"Bonnie! Bonnie! Thank god you're home!" Caroline said, throwing her arms around the smaller gir.

Addie practically shoved Caroline out of the way so she could get in a hug of her own. ""I know we talked practically everyday but I missed you so much," Addie softly said so only Bonnie would hear.

Boonie squeezed her back tight, "I've missed you too, Addie."

The two separated, not noticing Elena's pouting look.

"How are you doing?" asked the wonderfully tactful blonde.

Bonnie shrugged, "Better. Better. You know, glad to be back and trying to keep myself busy."

"Caroline and I can definitely help you with that," Addie grinned, her deep blue eyes shining. "Help me help Caroline find a dress for the Founder's court that isn't meant for a hooker. Then help me find a dress I won't end up wanting to burn."

Bonnie laughed; she was the only one who knew that Addie had tossed Elena's forest green dress into the Salvatore's oversized fireplace.

"The Founders' court? Did I miss something?" interrupted Elena, hating that her best friends were centering around her immature little sister.

Caroline looked at Elena like she wanted to wear brown shoes with black pants, "The Founder's court! You know, Miss Mystic Falls. The announced it today and you, Addie and I are both on it."

"Addie?" Bonnie's voice hitched in surprise.

Addie scowled and loosened the lime green skinny tie she wore over a black button up. "My mother either forged my signature or got me to sign in my sleep. I'm pretty sure both should automatically disqualify me but I already talked to Carol Lockwood. She will have to see my dead body before she lets me out of this nightmare."

"Oh, it's going to be loads of fun," Caroline squealed pulling at the younger girl's arm.

Elena tried to steer the conversation back her way, "Oh my god. We signed up for that so long ago… I completely forgot."

"So. you're dropping out then?" Caroline questioned, trying to hide the hint of hopefulness. She could beat a freshman like Addie, even with her tragic story but another junior with that story would be tough to beat.

Elena gave a half-smile and shrugged, "Guess Mrs. Lockwood won't let me out if she won't let Addie out."

* * *

Addie slung the garment bag over her shoulder, thanking Bonnie for the ride. Elena and Caroline had dragged them to no less than six dress shops before Addie lost the little tolerance for the pair and shopping that she had. In an effort to hopefully expedite the process, she had bought the first dress she tried on in the very first store. It was a royal purple bodice with a halter top and sweetheart neckline. Caroline had gushed about how it accented her chest and hips which "she definitely needed if she wanted a chance of even looking good" according to to the older girl. Elena's mocking comments about how the chiffon material wasn't classy enough for a win only spurred Addie to buy the dress even more. Caroline and Elena had taken their dresses to the tailor's but Addie decided hers was fine as it was. If she had her way, she wouldn't even be going to the stupid pageant, let alone partaking in it.

She fished her wallet out of her pressed black slacks and found the house key attached, knowing only Jeremy was home and the door would actually be locked for a change. Her sister and aunt were too trusting of people in this town. Walking in, she was pleasantly surprised to see Uncle John watching an old Baltimore Raven's game in the livingroom.

"Hey! The only team worth watching," Addie grinned, standing behind the couch to watch a few plays.

John patted the seat next to him, "Of course! Come, sit! Watch with me. What have you got there?"

Addie hung the dress in the coat closet, "It's my stupid dress for that stupid beauty pageant."

"It's a Rosewood tradition! You'll have fun," John grinned, ruffling her hair as she plopped next to him on the cream colored couch.

"You mean my sister will have fun, I'll be mad because pageants are degrading, and Jeremy will bitch and moan all night about me forcing him into being my escort," Addie huffed, propping her classic black and white Converse on the couch.

"Hmm," John contemplated, carefully considering what to say to his niece. "Elena does enjoy anything where she can put on a fancy dress. I don't think pageants are degrading but they can be superficial; you shouldn't have to be paraded around like a horse for judging to win a scholarship. Why don't you ask somebody else beside Jeremy? You're an amazing girl."

"I don't want to go with anybody," Addie sulked.

"It's just one night," Uncle John nudged her in the ribs and gave her a small, encouraging smile. "Who's your sister taking?"

"Stefan Salvatore. No doubt Damon will be there as her backup date. It's kind of gross how they both drool after her," Addie exaggerated, wanting to encourage her uncle to go after the vampires, at least Damon, without letting him know she knew anything about who they really were.

John stayed focus on the television as the Raven's made a third down on their own 10 yard line and kept his tone conversationally cool, "Backup date?That some new thing?"

"Nope. Why the hell do they bother to punt? Not logical. "It's nothing new; it's just my darling sister. One has never been enough for Elena. Remember that Christmas she had to get the scooter with rollerblade wheels _and _the one that had like bike inner tube tires because she liked the smoother ride of the bigger tires but the small wheels were more cool and popular? She wants it all," Addie muttered bitterly.

"Everyone wants it all, kiddo."

"Ok," Addie heaved an elaborated sigh. "My sister has to have it all. One Salvatore wasn't enough. It's not like she even knows anything about Damon; she just likes the idea of having the both fight over her because she knows they will."

"Someone sounds jealous," John sang.

Addie shook her head, having momentarily forgotten she was talking to Elena's father. "Don't confuse jealousy with repulsion, Uncle John. I know the demon that is Damon Salvatore far better than my sister. To want him fighting over you is disgusting. Would you want some barbaric cavewoman fighting for your attention, Uncle John?." Addie began beating on her chest with alternating fist and dropped her voice and spoke haltingly, " She-woman bring John big dead mountain lion as sign of love. She-woman view John as item not person."

John laughed at his niece and pulled her into a sideways hug, "Don't tell your sister but you're my favorite niece."

_And your only one,_ Addie thought to herself.

* * *

The silence in the air was thick as Elena and Addie were left alone in the changing room. Elena's rambling back and forth with Amber kept the sisters from having to acknowledge one another but the poor girl had felt ill with nerves. If Damon hadn't ripped away control from her when he told her to take control, Addie would have bet she'd have been panicking so badly even Carol Lockwood would feel bad and let her out of the competition. Damn him. Tucking a curl behind her ear, she spied a reflection in the mirror.

_Think of the devil and he shall appear. _

"Hey, you can't be back here," Elena chided.

Damon pushed his way into the room and closed the door behind him, "We need to talk."

"Does it have to be right now?" Elena complained, shifting her dress to the other arm about to get changed.

Addie scooted around Elena and grabbed her own dress as she couldn't help but overhear them.

Damon signed reluctantly, "Normally I would have a completely different outlook of what I'm about to tell you but since it could really inconvenience me, I'll squeal."

"What are you talking about?" Addie hear Elena say as she changed behind the partition.

"Stefan's still drinking human blood," Damon let out in a rush.

Addie threw a victorious fist pump and called out, "I told you so."

"What?!" Elena gasped, speaking the same time as her sister. "And when did you ever tell me so?" she snapped.

"Oh, in my head back when the murderous history teacher was picking us up and asking you questions about Stefan being ok. I also kind of implied it way back when he first showed up pulling the reformed vampire routine and I told you I didn't buy it and that I didn't trust him. Remember I said there was something dark inside him? Well, it's obvious why; he's another human leech. Probably no better than his fucked up brother."

"I resent that," interjected Damon. "I happen to be the model of good behavior compared to Stefan when he is on human blood."

"All the more reason I should keep feeding Uncle John reasons to kill you both," Addie wickedly grinned, stepping out from behind the barrier and walking back towards the vanity. She could feel both Damon and Elena's eyes hot on her.

Damon sucked in his breath, "Oooo, yeah, hate to break it to you but your Uncle doesn't actually want me dead."

"What?" both sisters questioned in surprise.

"Yeah," Damon grinned, sliding his hands into his pockets, looking extremely confident and arrogant."You might say we're working towards a common goal."

Addie strolled up to Damon, her heels making her just inches shorter, meaning she didn't need to look up to him so much and feel inferior. She pointed a stern finger right in his face, "You're more delusional than usual. My uncle wants you dead just as much as I do."

Chills spread through Addie as Damon slowly wrapped his fingers around her wrist. "Don't put your finger in my face. Unless, that is, you want me to bite you," Damon grinned darkly, lowering Addie's hand to her side. "We both know you don't really want me dead."

"If I could, I would kill you myself," she spat back through gritted teeth. She ripped her arm from him and stormed out of the changing room, feeling her face flush.

* * *

Addie chewed on her lip nervously as she gripped the railing so hard her knuckles turned white. What the hell was Jeremy doing? Stefan had been a no show when Carol Lockwood called Elena's name to present her. Addie had watched Jeremy look around for Stefan before quickly taking up the job of escorting Elena so she wasn't left standing alone and embarrassed. Only problem was that Jeremy was suppose to be escorting her in approximately three seconds. He had stepped up to save one sister from humiliation, forgetting about the other.

Jeremy looked back up the staircase, clearly distressed. Of course he would remember two seconds too late. Jeremy was pissed at Elena for having Damon erase his memory but he saw her in trouble and his first reaction was to help. Addie couldn't be mad at him; she knew if her and Elena were in opposite positions, Jeremy would have temporarily forgotten about Elena to save Addie.

"Addison Gilbert escorted by," Mrs. Lockwood hesitated for a fraction of a second, "Damon Salvatore."

Addie's eyes flashed to the bottom of the stairs were the other escorts had been standing and there was Damon. He gave her a small smile and Addie found the courage to face the crowded room. She walked quickly, having missed her entrance cue as she was distracted and concerned about not having an escort.

"Where's Stefan?" Addie whispered accusingly, taking the hand Damon held out to her.

"I don't know," he said perplexed and distracted.

Addie drew in an unsteady breath as they walked outside and towards the other contestants. "Do you know the dance?" she muttered, avoiding the questioning look as they passed Aunt Jenna.

"I doubt it's changed in 150 years and lucky for you I have an excellent memory," Damon smiled, gently squeezing her hand. "Don't be nervous."

Addie snidely snipped at him, "Is that a compulsive order?"

"I'm doing you a favor," Damon reminded her, as they stood across from each other.

She bit her tongue as she curtsied to Damon and he bowed to her. It was hard not to comment about the last time he had done a "favor" for her. Her eyes fell to her feet as they began to dance. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her sister flowing gracefully with the music. Envy shot through her as she struggled to keep count and worried about what move came next. These things came so easy to Elena; it was part of why she had been a great cheerleader.

The final agonizing moments of the dance were nearing and Addie could feel the knot of tension in her stomach slowly untying. She looked up from her feet and caught Damon starring at her. He wasn't looking at her with scorn or that hint of superiority that laced everything he did; his eyes were _softer_ than usual. Addie dared to lock eyes with him, tilting her head in confusion. Damon's lips tugged up at the corners. It was a smile she'd never seen on him; one of innocence and content. The music ended and Addie looked away from Damon, unnerved by that look. The skin on her back tingled from where Damon had held her, led her in the dance.

* * *

"Bonnie!" Addie whined in protest as she chased after her friend. "Let them go. It's not your problem," she pleaded as Bonnie tugged on her coat.

"Stefan's probably killing Amber _right now,_ Addie," Bonnie stated clearly.

"No he's not," Elena snapped, stopping in her tracks and turning back to her sister and friend. She had already donned her coat and was on Damon's heels.

"You're right," Addie snarled at Elena, angry at her for jumping on Bonnie. "Amber's been gone for hours. Stefan's probably already killed her."

"No he hasn't!" Elena cried, shaking her head.

"Come on," Damon barked, pulling at Elena.

Addie put a hand on her hip and looked at Damon, "Do you think she's alive?"

"I think we need to go, Elena," Damon pushed, looking away from Addie. She could read the foreboding look in his light blue eyes. He didn't believe Amber alive either.

Elena nodded and turned back towards the door. Damon led her out, with Bonnie following them.

"Bonnie!" Addie cried again, walking swiftly to keep up. "He's not safe."

The older girl didn't falter in step, "I can help. I can stop him."

Addie wrapped her arms around her as she followed the three into the cold February night, "He's a vampire, Bonnie!"

A loud scream broke through the sounds of the celebration. Addie groaned in protest as Damon and Elena sped off towards the woods with Bonnie in tow.

"I give up!" Addie raised her hands in frustration before going back inside.

* * *

Addie finished scrubbing her face of makeup. She looked at the door that linked that bathroom to Elena's room. Hesitantly she knocked.

"Yeah?" her sister responded.

The doorknob was cool under her hand as she pushed the door open. Elena was pulling on a dark jacket, her hair and makeup still done from the pageant. She looked over her shoulder at Addie and stopped.

"Guess you're gonna tell Jenna I'm sneaking out?"

Addie shook her head and stepped fully into her sister's room. "Just be careful. Amber could have died tonight. I don't - I can't… We may want to kill each other 90% of the time and well, if anyone is going to kill you I should get that honor."

"Wow. Touching, Addie," Elena responded flatly, glaring at her sister.

"I can't support you putting yourself in that kind of danger by going over there, Elena! How can I after what I saw? I've already lost Mom and Dad; I can't lose you, too," Addie finished softly, her voice breaking.

Elena finished putting on the jacket and grabbed her keys off her dresser, "Damon will be there. I'll be fine."

Addie laughed bitterly, a tear escaping her eye, "Yes, Elena. That's the answer. Go have one insane killer protect you from another. You can't trust Damon to protect you!"

Elena ignored her sister and walked out her bedroom, letting the door slam shut behind her. Addie went back into her room and curled up into bed. She pulled her phone off her nightstand and weighed it for a few minutes. With a deep sigh Addie scrolled through her contacts for the number she hadn't used in over a month.

_Addie: Thanks for stepping in tonight_

She shoved the phone under her pillow and settled down to sleep. Just as sleep was about to overcome her, the vibrations of her phone traveled through her pillow and buzzed in her head. Instinctively she went to check her text messages before she stopped herself. Damon had still violated the little trust she had for him. He was still the self-serving dick that had compelled her. Addie turned over and left her phone untouched. Tonight didn't change anything; she still hated Damon Salvatore.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for your feedback and comments! **


	12. Chapter 15

Curled up on the couch with a steaming cup of cocoa, Addie reread Jonathan Gilbert's journal for the third time. A lot of it was so disjointed and unconnected that it didn't make sense and then there were the sketchings and formulas for inventions without clear instructions on what they did. It was those mysteries that she wanted to figure out. Addie knew he had built a compass to detect vampires and wondered what else his neurotic, genius mind had come up with.

The sound of the front door opening and closing, disrupting the silence made her jump in surprise. Her uncle walked in, already undoing his scarf.

"Shouldn't you be at track practice," he scrutinized her, hanging his coat in the closet.

Shaking her head Addie replied, "No. Coach doesn't want us outside because of the snow and we can't use the gyms because the cheerleaders are using one and the basketball team the other. Our season doesn't really start until spring so she's a little lax on us right now."

Uncle John nodded, taking a seat at the opposite end of thee sofa. "It's quiet. Where is everyone else?"

"Jenna is off working on her thesis, I think. Jeremy is at the library with his girlfriend Anna. And Elena, well, I kinda need to talk to you about Elena," Addie voiced uncomfortably. She couldn't help but feel like she was betraying her sister but she was just really concerned for her safety.

John sensed the uneasiness in his niece and spoke gently, "What about Elena?"

"I think she's in a lot of trouble," Addie raked a hand through her hair nervously but continued at the encouraging nod from her uncle. "I - She - We both know that Damon and Stefan Salvatore are vampires." She could see Uncle John opening his mouth in protest but she stopped him before he could say anything, "You can't deny it. Damon told me. Hell, the bastard even compelled me. And Stefan told Elena. I've seen Damon kill someone and I saw what Stefan did to that poor girl the night of the Miss Mystic Falls pageant."

John's eyes narrowed as he tapped his fingers on his knee, "Then Elena's not the only one in trouble; you are too."

"I know," Addie whispered. Her voice was stronger as she continued, "But I keep my distance as much as possible. Elena is throwing herself in harm's way. Every night this week she's been sneaking out to go over to the Salvatore boarding house. She and Damon have Stefan locked up, trying to get the human blood out of his system. Apparently he's some kind of ravenous, uncontrollable creature when he drinks human blood so he keeps a diet of animal blood. At least he did until my sister was an idiot and fed him her blood when she went to go save him from a house full of vampires See the pattern of her putting herself in dangerous situations over this vampire? Let's not forget she's trusting Damon the psychopath, a self-proclaimed serial killer to protect her."

"What made you think you could tell me this?" John asked, a hint of nerves tingeing his voice.

"Well, I overheard Damon and Elena talking and he said that you knew what he was. That plus I'm pretty certain you're her father so even though Damon says you guys are working together, I'm hoping maybe you'll put the safety of your daughter first," Addie shrugged, keeping her eyes focused on her ancestor's journal.

John stirred uncomfortably, "Does Elena know I'm her father? How did you figure that out?"

"Elena doesn't know anything," Addie said quickly. "As for how I figured it out, it was your ring. My history teacher has one just like it that he got from his wife Isobel. All we knew about Elena's mother was that she was named Isobel and was from around here. She showed up at my dad's office; your brother's office. You admitted to Damon Salvatore and Alaric Saltzman to knowing both Katherine and Isobel. That's just too many coincidences."

John looked at her sternly, "Please, don't tell your sister."

Addie chuckled, "Elena wouldn't believe me anyways. She thinks everything I do is to sabotage her happiness. And I'm not telling you this to sabotage her happiness with Stefan; I'm telling you because I'm scared for her and I don't want her getting hurt."

John nodded slowly, "I'll take care of it. She won't know you told me." He began to head up stairs before stopping for one last thing, "Addie, what did Damon compel you to do?"

"To take control of my life," Addie grumbled, rolling her eyes.

John gave her a small, sad smile, "Don't worry, kiddo. He'll be dead soon and you'll have true control back."

"Are you really working with him?"

"Only until I get what I want. Then he's dead for good," he told her reassuringly.

* * *

"Have fun with Caroline and Elena," Addie snickered to Bonnie, putting away her history textbook and pulling out her math book and _Wuthering Heights _so she could do that night's homework.

"What?" hissed Bonnie, a slight edge of panic crept into her voice. "You're suppose to be working on the float too! You can't leave me alone with them."

Addie shrugged, feeling sympathetic for her best friend. She knew Bonnie still didn't want to be around Elena for her association with vampires and, to be honest, she could blame her. Not to mention Caroline could be a complete control freak. "I can't help it. I have to report to Mr. Saltzman, right now," Addie sighed, slamming her locker shut.

"Why?" Bonnie asked quizzically.

"Beats me. I got a B on my essay and he wrote on my paper to come and talk with him about it at the end of the day," Addie muttered, still annoyed with getting a B. Not to mention she wasn't particularly fond of people who essentially killed her.

"Alright, well wish me luck and I'll wish you luck," Bonnie gave her a weak grin.

Addie laughed, "It won't be that miserable. Good luck, Bon. I'll talk to you later."

"Later," Bonnie called, waving to her as Addie walked towards Mr. Saltzman's room.

The door was closed when Addie arrived so she knocked softly. The deep voice of her history teacher beckoned her to come in. Addie stepped into the room, closing the door behind her before looking around the classroom. That was when she noticed Damon, Stefan, and Elena all looking at her.

"Yeahhhhhh," Addie drawled out, placing her hand back on the doorknob. "I'm just gonna go."

Damon leaned casually on a desk and crossed his arms in front of him, "It's important."

Addie shook her head, "I don't see what could possibly be important enough for me to be in a room with you four and the door close." She pointed to Damon, "You tried to kill." Next she turned to Mr. Saltzman. "You would have killed me if it wasn't for him," she said, nodding her head towards Damon. "Elena, you pushed me out of a very tall tree when I was seven, causing me to break four bones but knowing you and for argument's sake, I'm going to count that as attempted murder," Addie said sweetly to her sister, a fake smile plastered to her face. She faced the final occupant of the room, "And you will probably kill me if I get so much as a papercut." Addie held up her hands defensively, "Excuse me if I don't think this exactly a safe place for me to be."

"Quit being overly dramatic," Elena scoffed.

"Nuh-uh. All of you in a room means so supernatural crap and I want no part of it," Addie insisted, shaking her head.

Damon crossed the room in five strides and dragged Addie by the wrist, ignoring her protests and clawing at his hand, until she was near Mr. Saltzman's desk like the other.

"First compulsion and now manhandling? You really are despicable," she spat at him.

He shrugged. "It's for your own good. Like it or not you're Elena's sister so you're involved in all this 'supernatural crap,'" Damon said, using air quotes.

"She's adopted. I'm off the hook," Addie grinned, turning on her heel only to walk straight into Damon's chest. Grabbing his shoulders he turned her back towards everyone.

"We can go back and forth with this all day or you can just cooperate and listen," he whispered in her ear. "You know you're trapped in this room as long as there are two vampires."

Addie crossed her arms and pouted, "So what of Elena's life am I being dragged into now?"

"I saw Isobel last night."

Addie groaned loudly, and threw her head back, not expecting Damon to still be behind her. His light blue eyes locked with her darker ones as her head fell against his chest. "You mean to tell me I have to worry about another fucking vampire in this town?" She lifted her head back up and looked at Mr. Saltzman, "What happened to you trying to kill this one?" Addie demanded, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at Damon. "Aren't you some kind of vampire hunter? You should be killing that one, too," she said, indicating Stefan. "He's responsible for Amber being hurt at the pageant."

"Temporary truce," Damon exhaled in annoyance, clasping a hand over Addie's mouth. At this rate they would be here all night. He let out a hiss in pain as a sharp stinging sensation hit his hand. Damon repositioned his thumb so that Addie's jaw was locked. "Do not bite," he growled dangerously in her ear. She stomped her foot in protest and began using her hands to try and pry his hand away from her mouth. With little effort Damon managed to capture both arms under his free one and pinned them to Addie's body. His mind started to drift to how soft and warm she felt pressed against him when Alaric began to speak again.

"Isobel wants to meet with Elena and she's threaten to go on a killing spree through town until they meet, starting with Addie."

Addie's cerulean eyes went wide with fear and she instinctively pushed herself further into Damon; his arm tightened around her protectively.

"That's not happening," he bit out, "either part. Did you ask her about Uncle John? Are they working together?"

Alaric shook his head, resting his hands on his desk, "No."

"No they're not?" confirmed Damon.

"No, I didn't asked," Alaric corrected.

"What about the invention?"

"Didn't ask."

Damon was getting annoyed, "Did she know about the tomb vampires?"

"I don't know," sighed Alaric.

Damon scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Did words completely escape you?"

"No," Alaric snapped, "I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions."

"Then what did she want besides to see Elena?" Damon snapped.

"That's it," Elena shrugged. "She just wants to see me."

Damon looked at her, his lips pursed .That wasn't all she wanted. Vampires always had an agenda.

Stefan spoke up for the first time, "Alaric is suppose to arrange a meeting. We don't know why or what she wants."

"You don't have to see her if you don't want to," Damon told Elena softly.

Addie rolled her eyes She still couldn't believe how much of an idiot Damon was. Stefan looked between Elena and Damon, his eyebrows raised, surprised at the sensitivity his brother was showing.

Elena sighed, "I don't really have a choice; she's going to kill my sister and then the rest of the town."

Damon wrinkled his nose in disgust at Elena's decision, "Oh! I take it hiding your sister and letting her go on a killing spree isn't ok with you guys."

Addie kicked Damon in the shin.

"Ow! You know, you are very, very mean to me considering I'm trying to prevent your sister's insane vampire mother from killing you," snapped Damon.

This only earned him another swift kick in the other shin.

"Brat," he muttered.

"I want to do it. I want to meet her. If I don't; I know I'll regret it," Elena gently told Damon.

By the sappy look she was giving him and the jealous, angry look on Stefan's face, Addie knew Damon was giving her a look just as sappy. Gross.

* * *

"So why are we meeting in a deserted classroom for lunch?" Addie asked Bonnie, dropping her bookbag on a desk. "I'm missing out on cold pizza. This better be good."

"Eat your pizza," Bonnie laughed before sternly adding, "just don't get any crumbs or grease stains on the book. Come here."

Addie dug through her backpack for the leftover pizza and unwrapped it from the foil before joining Bonnie in peering over a large, old book.

"Is that Emily's grimoire or whatever?"

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah. I've been going through it since Grams died. Check this out."

"That's the vampire compass," Addie said slowly, recognizing the sketch her friend pointed to.

"Yeah, according to Emily, Jonathan Gilbert never actually succeeded in inventing anything."

"Damn. Guess I can't say I have a genius ancestor. Nor can I blame all the craziness in his journals on the fact that he was one of those people who is just so smart that they have no people skills. You realize what this means? I actually am crazy! It's genetic," Addie nodded feverishly, chewing on a bite of pizza.

Bonnie blinked at her friend slowly, "You're just insane. Anyways, Emily secretly spelled all his inventions with magic to make them work. The compass, rings, and the mystery device you told me about." Bonnie flipped to a page in the book, "Is that it?"

"I haven't actually seen it," Addie said slowly, carefully studying the drawing, "but it looks the same as one of the devices in his journal. Of course there's no explanation in there as to what it is so as far as I'm concerned it's the mystery device. Unless you have other inventions?"

Bonnie shook her head, "No, that's the only one."

"So," Addie wondered aloud, sitting on a desk, "Emily was like loyal to Katherine or whatever. Why would she enchant these devices?"

Bonnie sat behind the desk that the book was open on, "Well, she couldn't stand by and watch innocent people get killed. This was the only way she could think of to help; to let Jonathan Gilbert believe that he'd actually invented these devices."

"Does it say what that one does?" Addie said, finishing the crust of her pizza.

Bonnie read for a minute before looking up at her. "Are you sure this is what Isobel wants?"

"According to my beloved sister," Addie shrugged. "Why?"

"The device is a weapon against vampires," Bonnie said slowly.

Addie pursed her lips, "I don't know if I should be excited about that or concerned. Does it seem like there is any way vampires could use it against humans?"

"I don't think so," Bonnie said, after looking over the book for a few minutes.

"Personally, I still think the last thing we should be doing is handing it over to vampires. We should be using it against them," Addie declared.

Bonnie nodded in agreement.

* * *

Bright lights burned Addie's eyes and only intensified the thumping in her head. What had happened? She'd been at school working on the Miss Mystic Fall float when…. When what? Blinking slowly her surroundings came into focus. She was in a room adorned with white furniture. Next to her stood a man and a woman. Addie tried to move but found she was bound to a chair. She didn't even bother trying to scream, she could feel the gag of cloth in her mouth.

She heard a woman's cold voice coming closer, "Because I have the next best thing."

A tall woman with flowing dark brown hair entered the room. Isobel. Addie could see traces of Elena in her facial features. Behind her was Uncle John. Addie's eyes went wide.

"What the hell are you doing?" John choked out.

Isobel smiled, her fangs flashing, "Getting what I want."

"Yeah," John scoffed then waved his hand at Addie, "but she is my niece and you're going to let her go right this second."

"That gaudy ring on your finger comes off," Isobel warned icily.

John tried to reason with her, "Come on, Isobel. I know you, okay? It's me, John. You can't hurt a kid."

"I'll kill her right now to prove you wrong," the vampire yawned, stretching out on the couch.

Addie's eyes began to fill with tears. Uncle John looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile. It really didn't help.

"Really? Are you that far gone?" asked John. "Look, I know you've changed but the old Isobel is somewhere in there, isn't she? Come on. Let her go. You're terrifying her."

Isobel spoke a foreign language to the man and woman next to Addie. French? They moved to Uncle John and beat him, throwing him on the floor. The vampire caught his hand and removed his magical ring.

"Nice try. We'll see how you do without this."

Addie looked down at her uncle as the fear consumed her and tears fell in steady streams down her face. After a few moments she felt herself calm. A few minutes later her uncle regained consciousness. He rushed over to her as fast as he could, a hand pressed against his bleeding forehead. It only took him seconds to undo her bounds. Addie yanked the cloth out her mouth and coughed several times.

"Why is a vampire after a device harmful to vampires? And why are you helping her?" she glared at her uncle accusingly.

"How do you know so much?" John asked in slight amazement.

Addie huffed, "I like to know what's exactly someone is threatening to kill me over."

Uncle John looked at her confused.

"She told Elena to get the device or she'd go on a murderous rampage through town, starting with me? Any of that ring a bell?" Addie snapped.

"I swear I had no idea she had even met with Elena," Uncle John said slowly.

"Right. Well, a friend knew what the device was and told me. Your turn to answer my question," Addie demanded.

John took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face, "There's a group of vampires from a long time ago that want revenge on this town."

"The tomb vampires?"

"How do you - I don't even want to know, on second thought. But yes," he nodded.

"And why is a vampire out to kill other vampires?"

Uncle John just shrugged and vaguely said, "She has her reasons."

Addie gasped, "Does the Ice Bitch have a soul and care if vampires kill her child?"

"All we can do is hope for the best in people."

"Even vampires?" Addie glared at her uncle.

* * *

It had taken a lot of persuasion but Addie had finally convinced Uncle John to drop her off at the Mystic Grill so she could catch up with Bonnie about what she missed while she was abducted.

"So, Damon's plan was just to storm in there and rescue me?" Addie asked incredulously.

Bonnie laughed, "Yeah."

Addie lowered her voice conspiratorially, "I'm telling you; that man wants me dead. Isobel would have killed me the second he appeared."

"That's what Stefan said," her friend replied, nodding in agreement. "Damon didn't trust me to take the spell off."

"You didn't take it off, did you?" Addie asked hastily.

Bonnie shook her head, "Of course not."

Addie's eyebrows furrowed, "Then why did he agree to give up the device?"

"Because he trusts Elena and Elena trusted me," Bonnie answered looking down in shame.

"Hey! You can't feel guilty about this! Your ancestor made this for a reason. Vampires have already caused too much death and destruction in this town."

Bonnie propped her head on her hand, "Elena is never going to forgive me when she finds out."

"Then that's her lost and it means she's even more self-centered than I think," Addie consoled.

Addie's phone began to buzz against the table. She groaned when she saw the caller ID and answered with reluctance, "What?"

"Addie, are you ok?" Elena asked panicked.

"No!" Addie had to restrain from shouting. "Your psychotic mother kidnapped, bound, and gagged me because you wouldn't give her one stupid little device!"

Elena sighed, "Where are you now?"

"With Bonnie, catching up on everything I missed. Tell Damon he can go fuck himself for almost killing me, again," Addie snapped.

"That's not what he meant."

"Blah, blah, blah. Excuses, excuses," Addie mocked.

"I'll see you at home," Elena muttered before hanging up.

"You know, I think you two are getting along less and less," Bonnie noted as Addie put her phone in her pocket.

"Yeah because of Damon and Stefan," Addie huffed.

Bonnie giggled.

"What?" Addie looked at her suspiciously.

"Nothing," Bonnie grinned, shaking her head.

"Bonnie Bennett," Addie drew out.

Bonnie laughed, "I just realized that you talk about Damon the way you did Alex Short in the third grade remember?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Addie said flushing, suddenly very interested in making designs in her ketchup with a fry.

"Yes, you do," Bonnie teased.. "You had such a huge crush on him."

"I did not!" Addie protested a little loudly.

"You totally did," Bonnie smirked.

Addie crossed her arms defensively, "Are you suggesting I have a crush on Damon Salvatore?"

"Do you?" Bonnie asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"My sister is the one who asked you to unspell the vampire harming device, not me," Addie reminded her best friend.

"That's not a no," Bonnie pushed on.

Addie stared at Bonnie as if she were proposing the most ridiculous idea in the world, "He tried to kill me."

"Again, I didn't hear a no," Bonnie smirked.

"I'm not stupid, Bonnie. It is my sister who is stupid enough to want to date a psychotic vampire. Stupid enough to want to date two psychotic vampires, actually," Addie amended.

"You still haven't said no," Bonnie sang.

Addie rolled her eyes, "No."

"You're a horrible liar," Bonnie said scrutinizing her.

Addie ran her fingers through her hair, nervous about how Bonnie would react. "Ok. Fine. I might have the tiniest, smallest possible crush there is. Do you hate me?" Addie winced.

Bonnie shook her head, "Of course not. Like you said, you aren't your sister. With you, I don't feel like you're on their side and that I'm fighting against you. I mean, I'm not going to say I understand how you could possibly like him but you're smart enough to stay away from him and that's good enough for me."

"Guess I'm the only marginally intelligent child in my family since both my siblings are dating vampires."

Bonnie nodded in agreement.

* * *

Addie and Jeremy sat at the Mystic Grill following the Founder's Day parade picking at a plate of fries. Things with Jeremy had been tense since she had given him Elena's diary to read and he found out all about Vickie and his memory being erased. They still joked around when they were together but she couldn't help but feel as if he avoided her at times.

"Jer?" she asked quietly, poking his hand with a fry.

Jeremy snatched the fry and shoved it into his mouth. "My fry!"

"Pig," Addie laughed, wrinkling her nose in mock disgust.

Jeremy washed down the fry with a sip of soda and looked at his little sister curiously, "What did you want?"

Addie took a deep breath, "Are you mad at me?"

"What? Why?" Jeremy asked confused.

"For not telling you about Vickie? For not telling you that Elena had Damon erase your memory? For simply knowing about vampires and not telling you?" Addie shrugged. "The list goes on and on really."

Jeremy ate a few fries, mulling his answer over before responding, "No. I still don't know what your whole story and role is in all this supernatural stuff but Elena's diary makes it pretty clear that you're not happy about it. It wouldn't be fair for me to be mad at you because if the roles were reversed, I wouldn't have told you either. I would have wanted to protect you, like you did me."

Addie shook her head, "But I don't get that; Elena was just trying to protect you."

"You and Elena are very different. I know you would have hated to see me hurt, but you wouldn't have had my memory erased, would you?" Jeremy asked simply.

"No. I mean, it did bring the old you back, but it wasn't right. Nobody deserves to be violated like that."

Jeremy nodded and opened his mouth to speak when Elena came over.

Elena looked down at Jeremy, "I don't believe we can fix this; I lied. I was wrong but you're my brother, Jer, and I love you and I have to fix it. So just tell me, what can I do?"

"You can go to hell, Elena," Jeremy spat before standing up and walking out.

Elena looked at her sister for help. Addie pulled a $20 out of her wallet, more than enough to cover their bill and just shrugged at Elena..

"You could try not being a bitch with a superiority complex. I know I'd like you a lot better if you fixed that."

Addie patted her sister on the shoulder and quickly walked out the Grill. She had to jog half a block to catch up with Jeremy.

"She say something after I left?" he asked angrily.

"No but I told her she should stop being a bitch with a superiority complex," Addie grinned.

Jeremy gave his sister a small smile, "I think you have more of that problem with her than I do."

"True," Addie conceded, "but if she didn't have a superiority complex she would not have thought she had the right to erase your memory."

"Fair enough," Jeremy nodded as the wandered into the town square.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before a voice came from behind them.

"'I have so many emotions, but I don't have any way to express them. Being a teenager is so hard!'" mocked Damon.

"You're a dick!" Jeremy snapped at the vampire.

"You do not talk to me like that!" Damon snarled stepping right up to Jeremy. "I'm not your sister. And from now on," Damon grabbed Jeremy's arm, "don't talk to your sister that way either. Argh!"

Addie had pulled a stake from the waist of her jeans and stabbed Damon right in the bicep, making him drop Jeremy's arm. Addie pulled her brother back and stepped up in front of him. She watched as Damon ripped out the wood with a groan and tossed it on the ground. He stepped on it, snapping it into glared at Addie and opened his mouth to speak but she did before he could.

"Now that I have your attention, don't you ever touch my brother again or I will make sure I stake your heart. That's two times I have gotten you; don't underestimate me. Secondly, just because you're in love with my sister - oh, don't look so shocked, you know I read her diary - don't think you can tell us how to treat her. You're deluded by love and don't see Elena the Raging, Self-Centered Bitch. You think she wants to make good with Jeremy because she cares about her relationship with him? No, she just can't stand anyone seeing the real her. The not-so-saintly-Elena. I've never bought into that and that's why she hates me. Our relationships with Elena are none of your business so stay out of it."

"You're walking a really tight rope, Addison," Damon hissed threateningly.

Addie shook her head, "I'm not afraid of you."

"You're really stupid then."

"No, I'm just in control of my life," Addie smirked. She turned smartly on her heel and snatched Jeremy's hand, leading him away.

"What was that about?" her brother said suspiciously.

"Like you said, he's a dick."

Jeremy snapped at his sister, angry with her for being so reckless, "That doesn't mean you go and stake a vampire in the arm, bait him, and tell him you're not afraid of him."

Addie let go of Jeremy's hand and kept walking. "I'm not going to defend myself to you," she called over her shoulder.

* * *

Addie continuously raked her hands nervously through her hair as she followed the old, familiar path to her dad's old office. Uncle John had told her that morning that she would have her control back by the end of the night. She could only figure that meant he intended on using the device tonight. Earlier in the evening she had seen him lingering around her father's office and wondered if that was where he was going to set off the device from.

She found the door unlock, though the lights were off. Quietly she slipped into the office. She saw a figure move quickly as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark.

"Addie?" her uncle asked, squinting in the dark.

"Mm-hmm," Addie hummed nervously, walking over to him, her eyes having acclimated.

Uncle John shook his head and reprimanded her, "You shouldn't be here. It's not safe."

"It's safer than out there with all the vampires," she countered.

Uncle John put a firm hand on her shoulder and tried to turn her around, "You shouldn't see this."

"I have to," Addie pleaded, the encounter with Damon earlier still reeling through her mind "I have to see…"

"Ok," Uncle John conceded reluctantly. "Just stay back and out of the way, alright?"

As Addie made to respond the door opened again. It took a moment to decipher the blurry figure as Damon.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Damon asked outraged.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do," Uncle John smile.

Damon moved towards them when Uncle John twisted the device, activating it. Addie jumped back as Damon fell to the floor, holding his head and screaming in agony. It was as if everything was in slow motion as she watched her uncle prepare a syringe full of vervain then plunge the poison into Damon's neck. In seconds Damon was silent and motionless, unconscious.

She watched her uncle go down into the basement, where deputies carried down vampire after vampire. Watching Anna pass, she hoped Jeremy hadn't been with her when the device went off;he didn't need to see that. Addie was surprised as they took Mayor Lockwood down. One deputy came and grabbed Damon.

Addie thought she smelled gasoline. This was confirmed when she saw her uncle standing at the top of the stairs, pouring the last drops out of the can. He struck a match before seeing Addie was still in the building. He told her to get out and Addie scurried out as fast as she could, running to put distance between her and the building. She finally stopped and looked up. Addie groaned; she was suppose to be running away from the building, not around to the utility door.

Addie opened the door and stepped back as the flames began to lick towards the door.

"What are you doing, Addie?" came a cautious voice.

Addie turned around to come face to face with Bonnie. She opened and closed her mouth several times before finding words. "I don't know," she whispered.

"You can't go in there!" Bonnie declared, grabbing Addie's shoulders, trying to make her look her in the eye.

Addie looked back at the flames and felt tears pool in her eyes. Bonnie was right.

Bonnie looked at her best friend. She'd never seen her cry; not even at her parents' funeral. Hoping she wouldn't regret this Bonnie began to chant, "Ex spiritum intacullum, in terrum incendium, fes matos salvis adisdum! Ex spiritum intacullum, in terrum incendium, fes matos salvis adisdum! Ex spiritum intacullum, in terrum incendium, fes matos salvis adisdum! …."

Addie's mouth dropped open slightly as the flames died back. Rushing down the stairs she did her best to avoid the flames that still danced at her legs. She squinted through the smoke and half-way across the room saw Damon. She rushed to him, glad to find him conscious.

"Come on, jackass," Addie coughed through the smoke, pulling one of his arms over her shoulders and wrapping hers around his waist. Between the strength of both of them they were able to get him upright. He was still weak from the vervain so Addie had to support a good deal of his weight as they fought to get out. She coughed harder and harder as they began to make their way up the stairs. Addie stumbled and grabbed the railing, burning her hand.

"Just two more steps," Damon murmured in her ear. She could barely hear him over the crackling and popping of the fire. She tried to nod but she was too dizzy and lightheaded. Damon had to fight to drag them both out that last little bit.

Both collapsed to the ground as soon as they reached outside. Damon rolled onto his back, still feeling like acid ran through his veins. He looked up with heavy lidded eyes to find the witch pulling him further away from the building. When Damon was far enough away, Bonnie ran back for Addie who was curled up on her knees coughing and choking for air. Bonnie helped her to stand so she could expand her lungs as much as possible and led her away from the door, which she shut with magic.

Addie coughed for several minutes with Bonnie patting and rubbing her back. Finally catching her breath, Addie choked back a sob as she pulled Bonnie into a bone crushing hug.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice hoarse from the coughing and smoke.

Bonnie squeezed her tighter.

Addie sniffled, "Are you gonna make me pick? Or I mean are you going to pick?"

"We're good, Ad," Bonnie hushed, stroking the other girl's hair. "But if Damon spills so much as one drop of innocent blood, I'll take him down."

Addie laughed, which turned into a coughing fit, "I'll help you."

* * *

Addie sat on the Salvatore porch waiting for Damon. He had been gone by the time she stopped hugging Bonnie. She really couldn't thank her friend enough. She never knew Bonnie cared so much about her as to let her save Damon.

She stood up as his car rolled into the driveway and brushed herself off with the hand not wrapped in gauze. Damon got out of his car and walked right past her.

"Hey!" she snapped, grabbing his wrist.

Damon looked at her confused, "Huh?"

"How about, I don't know, something like: 'Hey, Addie! Thanks for saving my unworthy ass tonight!'" Addie said sarcastically.

"Right," Damon nodded slowly, as if just remembering. "Thanks." He pulled away and continued walking to the front door.

Addie huffed in annoyance. Spying a ping pong ball sized rock, she picked it up and chucked it the center of Damon's back.

"Ow! What the fuck, Ads?!" Damon yelled, rubbing the spot.

"You know, I think I'm finally starting to figure you out," she glowered, walking up to Damon. "You respond to pain, not kindness. I stab your arm; I get your attention. I save your life; you disappear. I hit you with a rock; suddenly you notice I'm on your front porch."

"Sorry, I'm a little distracted," Damon shrugged.

Addie nodded understandingly, "Oh, of course. I'll just be a little distracted the next time your ass needs saving. Good night, Damon."

Addie was halfway off the porch when Damon grabbed her wrist, "Wait. I'm sorry."

She turned slowly and looked at Damon like he had grown a second head, "You're what?"

"I'm sorry," he exaggerated, rolling his eyes.

"For what? There are so many things that you should be sorry for that I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about," Addie snarked, pursing her lips in disapproval.

Damon pulled her uninjured hand to sit down next to him. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her intently, "I'm sorry for a lot more things than I'm willing to admit to."

"Yeah, sorry, that doesn't mean shit to me. If you can't own up to it, you're not really sorry as far as I'm concerned," Addie shrugged, making to stand back up but Damon wrapped a finger through a belt loop and pulled her back down next to him.

"Fine," he muttered, kicking at the rocks on the ground. "I'm sorry for pulling a vanishing act when you saved me."

"Why did you do that?" Addie asked confused and hurt.

Damon looked up to the sky and was silent so long that Addie didn't think he was going to answer. "I could ask you the same thing."

Addie scoffed, "I did it because apparently I'm an idiot."

"Why do you say that?" Damon asked, still not looking at her.

She shook her head, "Trust me, I was all for letting you die. I encouraged Bonnie not to deactivate the device. I knew it was happening tonight. I didn't warn you or Stefan. I wanted all the vampires out of this town for good. Hell, I couldn't wait for you to die so I would be free of your compulsion and I could finally be sure of what the hell I'm doing and what is actually my decision and choice. Then I end up at that utility door and - " Addie broke off, shaking her head. "I'm such an idiot," she groaned, dropping her face in her hands.

"For saving me?" he asked softly.

"Obviously! Ugh! I'm worse than an idiot. I'm pathetic. Very, very pathetic," Addie mumbled into her hands.

"I don't get why you're saying that."

Addie laughed bitterly, "Good. It doesn't matter."

Damon pulled her injured hand into his lap and traced over the veins that showed at her wrist, "It matters to me."

"Why?" Addie scoffed, trying not to shiver at his featherlight touch.

"At some point you decided I was worth saving; I can't imagine anyone but Stefan doing that and he would be doing it out of guilt. I definitely know you didn't do it out of guilt," Damon chuckled softly.

She rolled her eyes, "You're not stupid. I'm sure you can eliminate the possibilities. There are only so many reasons someone would risk their life for someone else."

"I must be stupid or blind because I can cross off every idea I think of," he mumbled, tracing the veins further up her arm.

Addie sighed wistfully, "Somehow that doesn't surprise me, Damon. It's partly what makes me saving you so pathetic. What else are you sorry for?"

His hand stilled as he forced out the next words, "I'm sorry for compelling you."

"Are you just telling me what I want to hear since I saved your life?" Addie glanced at him skeptically.

"No," he smiled slightly, tracing patterns on her inner arm.

Addie looked at him hopefully, "Does that mean you'll uncompel me?"

Damon shook his head, "Not a chance. I have a theory."

"I don't care," Addie growled, trying to pull her arm back but Damon held on tight.

"I think the compulsion is helping you learn how to get your way, how to get what you want, and most importantly, how to stick up for yourself. The more and more I see you do that, the more likely I'll be to take it off," Damon rationalized.

Addie gritted her teeth, "I should have let you die."

"But you didn't, meaning some part of you didn't want me to die. The greater part of you. If you can't tell me why though, I definitely don't think you're ready for the compulsion to come off," Damon said.

Addie snorted, "That's horseshit, Damon. That's just you blackmailing me to figure out what you can't on your own."

Damon shrugged, "Think what you want."

"Anything else you want to apologize for before I leave?"

"Yeah," Damon said roughly. "Just one more thing."

Hesitating for just a moment, Damon gently hooked a finger under Addie's chin and slowly turned her head towards his, giving her plenty of time to pull away. His eyes roamed her face for any sign to stop. Slowly he bent his head towards her, still nervous she might not want this. He smiled slightly when her eyes fluttered close. Softly, he pressed his lips to hers. Timidly Addie pressed back. Grinning, Damon kissed her more firmly. Reluctantly he pulled away and let his hand drop back to his lap. He smirked at Addie's blush so deep he could see it in the moonlight as she turned away from him, looking at her shoes.

"I'm sorry for that but I had to at least once," he mumbled.

"Why did you do that? I mean, why are you sorry for that?" Addie asked quietly, hoping he couldn't hear her heart pounding in her chest.

Damon shook his head, feeling her pulse race as he gently pressed on the side of the veins at her wrist, "Because it's wrong, Ads."

"How?" she demanded.

Damon blew out a breath, "In so many ways. Don't make this harder than it is."

Addie snickered, "You brought this on yourself You told me the more I get my way and get what I want the more like you are to lift compulsion. I want to know how it's wrong."

"You're too young," Damon said simply.

"Elena's not much older and I would argue that she is definitely more immature," Addie countered.

"It's illegal."

"Since when do you obey the law?"

"I'm too old for you."

"What if I like older guys?"

"I'm not a nice guy."

"In case you haven't noticed, I can be a bit of a bitch."

"I'm always going to be the bad guy who compelled you and almost killed you."

"I encouraged my best friend not to deactivate a device with the intent of killing you and your brother."

"You're too short."

Addie had to laugh, "Your reasons are becoming more and more pitiful."

"I know," Damon gave her a crooked grin.

Addie groaned as her phone began to ring.

"You should get that. Could be important," Damon smirked, grateful for the subject change.

Addie rolled her eyes, "It's Elena."

Damon froze, "Probably not important."

"Actually, she only calls me if it is," Addie sighed, answering her phone. "Hello?"

She hung up a few minutes later, never speaking. Her head was swimming. Jeremy had tried to become a vampire. Uncle John had been attacked by one. Caroline was in serious condition from a car accident. Damon was on his feet, holding out a hand to her. She grabbed it gratefully.

"I have to-"

Damon waved his hand, not wanting to hear what she had to say, "I'll drive you to the hospital."

"Thanks," she gave a forced smile, knowing it would be a long night.

Damon squeezed her hand encouragingly.

* * *

**A/N: I'm really nervous about this chapter. On the other hand we're done with season 1! And shocker! Two chapters in 24 hours. **


	13. Chapter 16

Addie rushed over to Bonnie and Elena as Damon headed towards Sheriff Forbes. Elena raised a cool eyebrow at her sister, seeing who she had arrived with. Addie rolled her eyes; this wasn't the time for Elena's jealousy.

"How's Caroline?" Addie frowned, hugging Bonnie.

Bonnie shook her head sadly, "She's in really bad shape, Addie. They don't know if she's going to make it."

"Isn't there something that you can do?" Elena implored desperately. "Like a spell a spell or something?"

Raking a hand through her hair, Addie looked warily as Damon approached, the air of superiority surrounding him again. Of course the more sensitive Damon from the porch wouldn't have lasted long.

"She doesn't know how, do you?" he smirked, looking at Bonnie.

The witch gave him a sour look, "No, I don't."

"No, you don't because it took Emily years to learn a spell like that," Damon sneered.

"Well, I can take down a vampire. That spell was easy to learn," Bonnie snapped, standing up straighter.

:Addie glared at Damon, "Is it possible for you not to be an ass every second of every day? Without Bonnie you'd be a pile of ashes right now."

Elena placed a hand on Damon's bicep, her eyes going wide, "You were in the fire?"

Damon shrugged, "Your sister was working with your father. Turns out she liked the idea of me as vampire flambe."

"I eventually saved you," Addie muttered, rolling her eyes.

"You tried to have Stefan and Damon killed?" Elena scolded her sister just loud enough so only Damon and Bonnie could overhear.

Addie slowly emphasised each word, as if she were trying to explain a difficult concept to a five-year-old, "They're vampires, Elena. Killers."

"Standing right here," Damon sang, shoving his hands into his leather jacket.

"Yes and you're a self-proclaimed serial killer. I happen to believe in the death penalty for serial killers," Addie smiled up at him sweetly.

Damon smirked, "And I repeat: standing right here."

"Momentary lapse in judgement," Addie shrugged coolly.

"Can we focus on Caroline?" Elena sniffed, annoyed with the exchange between her sister and Damon.

"I can give Caroline some blood," Damon suggested, looking tenderly at Elena.

Addie's head snapped up from focusing on the black and white tiles, "Hell to the freaking no."

Elena bit her lip in consideration.

"Just enough to heal her," Damon reasoned. "She will be safe in the hospital and it will be out of her system in a day. She'll be better, Ads."

Addie shook her head, "It's too risky. How are you going to explain the spontaneous healing to her mother, a leading member of the council out to kill you? I did not just risk my ass for you to impress Elena with martyrdom."

Damon stared at Addie for a minute, "You have a very bad habit of getting off heard of a medical miracle?"

Addie glared at Damon. Elena still looked hesitant about the idea.

"Do it," Bonnie commanded.

"Bon-"

"This is Caroline. We can't let her die," Bonnie insisted.

Addie pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, "It's not our job to play God."

"You're not even religious," Elena snapped at her sister, speaking up for the first time about the situation.

Bonnie glared at Damon and repeated herself, "Do it."

Damon crossed his arms and cocked his head. Addie could tell he was trying to work this to his advantage.

"If I do this, you and me, call a truce?"

"No," Bonnie spat, "but you'll do it anyways. You'll do it for Elena."

Bonnie turned and walked back towards where Matt Donovan sat, anxiously waiting for news. Addie went to follow her but out of the corner of her eye, she saw a look she couldn't read on Damon's face. Changing her mind, she sat in an uncomfortable, plastic chair a little ways down but still within hearing distance of Damon and Elena.

"I know this is probably the last thing you want to do right now," Damon started slowly, "but we should talk about what happened tonight."

Addie could make out Elena's head bobbing up and down, "Yeah, one of the tomb vampires got into the house and almost killed John."

The surprise was obvious in Damon's voice, "Yeah, I'm not talking about that but I overheard you telling Addie on the phone. Did it happen after I left?"

"You were there?" Addie could almost imagine the confused look on her sister's face.

"Come on, Elena, you know I was."

Elena still sounded confused, "When were you at the house?"

"Really?" Damon exaggerated. "Earlier, on the porch, we were talking, all cathartic, feelings exposed. Come on! We kissed, Elena."

Addie had to bite her tongue to restrain from laughing and telling Damon off for kissing both her sister and herself, particularly on the same night. Though Addie couldn't admit to expecting any better of him. Yet, that didn't make sense. Addie had read Elena's diary many times and watched her interact with both Damon and Stefan. Her feelings for Damon were obvious but, despite not having the greatest character, she loved Stefan too much hurt him like that. Well, she would have at least had the sense to kiss Damon somewhere where she wouldn't potentially be caught. Though Addie really didn't think her sister would have kissed Damon.

Elena sighed, exasperated, "Okay, I don't have time for this Damon."

Damon held up his hands defensively, "If you want to forget what happened fine but I can't."

Addie jumped up as she saw Jenna approaching Elena and Damon and joined the pair.

"Elena, I came as soon as I got your message. How is John?"

Addie flinched; she had completely forgotten to ask about her uncle.

Elena looked at her aunt accusatorially, "Where have you been?"

"At the fire department, I had to fill out a report. I told you earlier," Aunt Jenna responded sharply.

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did," Jenna said slowly and firmly.

Addie looked between the two curiously. It wasn't like Elena to forget something so important and it was even stranger for Jenna to take a harsh tone with her eldest niece; that was usually reserved for Jeremy and Addie. What could Elena done to have warrant the wrath of Jenna? Addie's eyes narrowed and brow furrowed in speculation. Elena wasn't remembering events Damon or Aunt Jenna spoke about. It would have been uncharacteristic of her sister to kiss Damon and to forget what Jenna had said.

Addie's eyes widen slowly at the terrifying thought that occurred to her. Elena said a tomb vampire had attacked John but it was very unlikely that one of them would have been invited in. Uncle John knew Isobel and from what Addie understood, Isobel knew Katherine. Actually, hadn't Uncle John admitted to knowing Katherine when he first arrived? Elena was supposeably a carbon copy of Kather.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Addie muttered, drawing a puzzled look from Damon. Addie couldn't help but give him a smug look, finding it slightly humorous that he had been fooled by Katherine, yet again. His eyes narrowed at her suspiciously.

Elena scoffed, "No, Jenna you didn't.

"Yes, I did," Aunt Jenna emphasised.

"Mmm," Damon groaned, drawing the attention of Jenna and Elena. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Addie tried unsuccessfully to suppress a chuckle. Damon realized the other two were staring at him and quickly walked away. Addie follow him snickering.

"Shut up," he growled.

Addie grinned, too amused to be angry at the moment, "You know, you could have just said it's wrong because you had just finished kissing the woman you spent 150 years searching for. That's a very valid and understandable reason. Of course, you did think she was my sister. I guess you don't know either as well as you think you do."

Damon snatched Addie's wrist, his grip tight enough to make her wince, "I am only going to say this one more time, Addison: Shut. Up."

"Or else what?" Addie sneered, gritting her teeth against the pain of his bruising grip.

Damon's lips twitched in anger but Addie could tell he had no response.

"What's going on?" Elena peered at the two skeptically, having left Jenna to catch up with them.

Addie chortled out, "Damon kissed Katherine thinking it was you."

Damon's grip reflexively closed tighter around her small wrist. When Addie gave a whimper of pain he quickly dropped it.

"What the hell, Damon," cried Elena, protectively tugging her sister closer to her.

Damon shook his head and sputtered, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean too."

"Of course you did," Addie muttered.

Elena butt in, trying to diffuse the situation before it escalated, "What's this about Katherine?"

"Ding, dong, the bitch is back," Damon muttered darkly.

* * *

Addie sat at the kitchen table as Damon and Stefan talked.

"Did she way what she want?" Damon demanded of Stefan, who had an encounter with Katherine as well.

Stefan shook his head, "No."

"Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance," Addie observed, recalling her fooling Damon and sending Stefan to the floor. "I like that."

Damon scowled at her, "You wanted all vampires dead six hours ago, You should just scurry off to your room, little girl. It's past your bedtime."

Addie laughed and ignored Damon's harsh words. "I still want the vampire race extinct but I think I could get use to Katherine. Especially if she continues to make a fool of you. It's so entertaining to watch you taken down a notch."

Elena came back into the kitchen to be enveloped by a hug by Stefan.

"I told Jeremy. I can't lie to him anymore," she informed everyone.

Addie nodded and couldn't resist mocking her sister, "Yeah, he might know something's up when he sees two of you or if you magically turn nice."

"Katherine's not nice," Stefan said simply, shaking his head.

"Neither is my sister, she just has you fooled," Addie shrugged innocently.

Stefan rolled his eyes and looked back at Elena, "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright," Elena pouted. "I thought that with all the tomb vampires gone things would be better."

Stefan stroked her straight brown hair and nodded slowly, "I know. We all did."

"Actually," Addie interjected, "I don't think anything will be better until you two are out of our lives."

Elena sneered at her sister, "What are you even doing here?"

"Oh," Addie smiled and added as if it were obvious, "you three a lovestruck idiots. There needs to be a voice of reason. Am I the only one concerned with the fact that Katherine has been invited into our house?"

"What do you suppose we do," Elena snapped

"Move," Damon shrugged.

"Very helpful, thank you," Elena glared at Damon.

Addie grinned and leaned back on the two hind legs of her chair, "I propose we ship you off to boarding school and let Katherine continue to pretend to be you. I have a feeling we would get along smashingly."

"Because you're both bitches," Elena muttered.

Addie nodded in agreement, "And we both like seeing Damon be made a fool of."

"You are really pissing me off tonight," Damon ground out.

"Do you _really_ want to argue who has a more valid reason to be pissed at who tonight? I mean, I'm letting it go and finding the night quite amusing but I can easily become pissed off," Addie smiled sweetly.

Elena turned to Damon, "What's she talking?"

Damon raised a shoulder nonchalantly, "Nothing, apparently. You heard her; she's letting it go."

"What are you talking about, Addison," Elena demanded.

Addie rubbed her chin as if deep in thought, "Why would I tell you something that would just make you hate me even more?"

"Because I'm going to find out anyways," her older sister threatened.

"No, you aren't," Addie smirked knowingly. "Damon's too much of wimp to tell you and I'm simply not stupid enough to."

"I'd never thought I'd say this but can we please get back to Katherine?" Stefan interrupted.

"If Katherine wants you dead, there's zero you can do about it; you would be dead but you're not," Damon quickly jumped on the topic.

Addie rolled her eyes and muttered, "And what a pity that is."

Damon carried on, ignoring her, "So, clearly she has other plans."

"Right," Stefan agreed. "We need to find out what those other plans are and not provoke her in the process. What happened tonight when you thought she was Elena?"

Addie snickered and answered before Damon could, "They kissed."

"And you thought it was me?" Elena raised her eyebrows at Damon.

"You kissed?" Stefan growled at his brother.

Damon waggled his eyebrows at Stefan and made kissing noises. Stefan vamp speeded towards his brother but Damon used his own, faster speed to stand next to Elena.

"It's not cool to be so obviously jealous, Stefan," Damon taunted.

Stefan started towards Damon again put Elena was quick to place herself between them, placing a firm hand on Stefan's chest.

"Dude," Addie laughed, "find the humor in this. After 150 years he finally kissed Katherine."

"You're not helping, Addison! I wouldn't kiss Damon, Stefan. We don't have time for you two to be acting like this."

Addie pouted, "I really wanted to see the show."

"Later," Stefan bit out at Damon.

"John must know something," Elena surmised. "There has to be a reason why Katherine tried to kill him."

Damon shrugged, "Not necessarily. She's Katherine; she loves to play games. You're fooling yourself if you think you're going to find out what she's been up to before she want you to know."

"The more you describe her, the fonder I am about the idea of shipping Elena off and having Katherine for a sister," Addie sniggered.

Elena grabbed a peach from the fruit bowl and lobbed it at her sister's head. Addie just turned around and stuck her tongue out at Elena.

"No, actually Elena's right. John could know something through Isobel. Isobel was in touch with Katherine so maybe we can go to the hospital and get him to talk," Stefan theorized.

Damon clapped his hands together once, "I've got a better idea."

"What's that?"

"To snog her?" Addie smirked. Damon gave her the middle finger. Addie laughed at the juvenile action.

"I'm just gonna ignore the bitch," Damon smirked,

"Because you did so well doing that for 150 years," Addie rolled her eyes.

Elena looked at Damon concerned, "Is that smart?"

"If Katherine thinks she's being ignored it will lure her out and she'll make a move."

Stefan snorted at his brother's brilliant plan, "Yeah? And then what?"

"Stake her. Rip her head poetic. We'll see," Damon answered unconcerned.

"How many times do I have to bring up the idea of letting her impersonate Elena? I really think she would be so much more fun to have as a sister."

* * *

Addie reluctantly followed Bonnie as she went to corner Damon at the service to honor Mayor Lockwood. She'd been doing her best to let it go that he had kissed her but the fact that he thought he kissed Elena only minutes before made it nearly impossible. The only thing that kept her from being in a full on rage was the idea that he had been fooled over by Katherine, again. He deserved it for being such a slimeball.

"Did you know the Gilbert device affected Tyler Lockwood?" Bonnie question, getting straight to the point.

"Well, I know it took the mayor down," Damon said, glancing uncomfortably at Addie.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. It was like pulling teeth trying to talk to the vampire. "Don't you want to know why?"

"Yes, Bonnie, I would love to know why a non-vampire was tortured by the vampire torture device that you two let John Gilbert use against me," Damon glowered. "Speaking of your guilt, how's Caroline?"

"She's much better," Bonnie nodded.

Damon smirked, "You're welcome."

"No, you're welcome," Addie snapped, crossing her arms.

"Why am I welcome," Damon sneered.

"You live to see another day," Bonnie explained.

Damon shook his head, feigning sadness, "No good deed goes unpunished with you two, does it?"

"Doesn't undo the bad," Addie informed him.

Bonnie dropped her voice threateningly, " We know what you are, Damon. You might have Elena and the sheriff and everybody else fooled but not us. One wrong move and I'm gonna take you out.."

Damon laughed, "Now you need to stop with the witches' brew. You're starting to believe your own press."

Suddenly Damon was groaning softly and grabbing his head in pain. Eventually Addie nudged Bonnie in the ribs to stop.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you were saying?" Bonnie smirked confidently.

Addie followed Bonnie onto the front porch and over to Elena, yet another person she did not want to deal with. She could have sworn Elena was coming with Aunt Jenna and Jeremy but she hadn't seen either one of them yet.

"Oh my god!" Bonnie cried, grabbing her head in frustration. "Damon drives me crazy! He's walking around like he's some kind of hero for healing Caroline when it's his fault all of this happened in the first place."

Elena looked at her friend sympathetically, "I'm sorry, Bonnie. What Damon's done is just awful."

Bonnie took a deep breath and nodded after a moment, "Okay, better. Hateful Damon moment over."

"You sure we can't have some more hateful Damon moments? I have a grievance list that's four feet long," Addie injected hopefully.

"You're the one who saved his ass," Bonnie said, shaking her head.

Addie put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes, "Ever heard of temporary insanity?"

"Yes but you cried," Bonnie smirked. "You don't do tears."

Addie glared daggers at her best friend; Elena did not need to know that.

Bonnie seemed to get the message. Lightly she touched Elena's arm and excused herself to go find Tyler and pay her respects.

"Okay," Elena nodded.

Addie leaned against one of the stone white columns and looked at the girl in front of her coolly, "You're not doing a very good job, Katherine."

"You're becoming paranoid," said the other girl, rolling her chocolate brown eyes.

Addie shook her head confidently, "Elena would have already insulted me by now and she would have asked questions until I answered about why I was crying when I rescued Damon. You've got the whole nice act down but I'm the only one Elena doesn't treat that way. Some days I think Stefan and Damon get along better than we do."

The girl's nails repeatedly tapped against the front porch railing.

"Just admit it," Addie shrugged. "I already like you better than I like my sister."

The laugh was too deep and cold to be Elena's. "And why would that be?"

"I applaud your work in humiliating Damon," Addie grinned darkly.

Katherine raise a perfectly manicured eyebrow, "Scorned lover?"

"Hardly. And Elena can only raise both eyebrows at the same time."

"Then why did you cry and save him?" Katherine challenged, crossing her arms.

For some odd reason Addie wanted to earn this woman's respect. Perhaps that was what compelled her to answer, "Damon actually compelled me into making my life better, once. I felt like I owed him one."

"And you weren't taken in by the striking blue eyes or chiseled good looks?" the vampire smirked knowingly.

"For half a second, when he wasn't being a complete and royal ass. Surely you realize he's in love with Elena, though. I deserve better than to be his backup plan," Addie shrugged, pretending not to care.

Katherine looked at her dubiously, "You're not going to question why I'm here or what I want?"

Addie raked a hand through her hair, nervous Katherine wouldn't believe the truth. "Honestly, no. I just want a supernatural free life but as long as my sister has a Salvatore on each arm, that's not happening. My fingers are crossed that one of us get shipped off to boarding school. By the way, if it happens to be Elena, feel free to take her place. You seem like you'd be so much more fun as a sister."

"I would be," Katherine grinned wickedly. "But you're so naive and innocent; I don't want to corrupt you just yet."

"So you plan on corrupting me?" Addie tried to fish.

Katherine shook her head, "Not unless you get in my way. However, I think we could work very well together. You want a supernatural free life and I can give that to you but it will take time."

Addie crossed her arms, "I'm not particularly fond of killing off my friends, if that's your intention."

"Like the witch?" Katherine said coolly, nodding in the direction that Bonnie headed off in.

"Exactly."

Katherine considered this for a minute, "Again, keep her out of my way and I'll let you both go. Though right now she's calling your sister and figuring out exactly who I am."

"Why should I trust you?" Addie pursed her lips, not trusting Katherine after all she heard fro Damon and Stefan.

She smirked as if she could read Addie's thoughts, "What better option do you have? Stefan and Damon who only care about Elena? Besides, like I said, I think we could work very well together."

Katherine stuck out a perfectly manicured hand and Addie hesitated.

"Why do I feel like I'm making a deal with the devil?"

Katherine shrugged, "You've only heard the bad about me from the brothers, I'm guessing. I'm not going to lie; I'm going to go in there and scare your witchy friend but I'm not going to hurt her."

Addie grasped the vampire's cold hand, chills running down her spine.

Katherine gave her a friendly grin, "Would you like to join me, or shall we keep this alliance anonymous? The witch would be the only one allowed to know."

"I'll think about telling her," Addie said slowly, "but I probably won't. Secrets aren't kept very well in this town."

"Give me your phone," Katherine commanded, holding out her hand expectantly. Addie passed it over and wait while the vampire input information. "Information is under Kathy; I'm sure there are plenty of girls by that name floating around this town. I'll be in touch soon."

With that, Katherine took off in the direction that Bonnie. The weight of an anvil sat in Addie's stomach. Didn't they say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer?

Addie walked back inside about half an hour later, her mind racing with thoughts. She stopped as she saw Damon and Elena talking over by the bar. Addie waited until Damon left the bar and headed to a more secluded, empty sitting room of the Lockwood. She followed him after a minute, knocking before he entered.

Damon looked at her, his eyes rimmed red from drinking. "I really cannot deal with you right now, Addison."

"For once, I'm not here to be mean," she said cautiously, sitting on the sofa next to him. When Damon didn't say anything she figured that her presence was tolerable. "Katherine is manipulative and what she did to you wasn't right, either time."

"I don't need you to tell me what I already know," Damon muttered sharply.

Addie tossed her head back against the overstuffed sofa in frustration and groaned. "Could you possibly not talk for five minutes? It's not like this is exactly the easiest thing in the world for me to say. And to be quite honest, I'm not sure you're going to let me walk out of this room alive."

"The party is much too crowded; I'd kidnap you from your bed," Damon replied darkly.

"It's comforting to know you already have a plan to kill me if you don't like what I have to say," Addie shuddered. She played with the fringe on a throw pillow nervously for a few minutes before Damon took it away. He was getting impatient. "I shouldn't have taunted you about Katherine no matter how hurt I was. I was a complete bitch and it was very childish of me."

Damon shook his head and looked at her for the first time, "Why on Earth were you hurt?"

Addie looked at him flabbergasted and pinched the edge the bridge of her nose; she really shouldn't have to spell this out for him. "Have you given it anymore thought as to why I saved you last night?" she sighed in annoyance.

"No, I've kind of been preoccupied with the idea of an insane bitch running around town looking like your sister," he snapped.

Addie glared at him. He huffed in annoyance and gave her a real response.

"All I can come up with is that you felt guilty, you care about me but if you did I wouldn't have been down there to begin with, or you did it because your sister asked you to and I just can't imagine that," Damon answered in vexation.

Addie concentrated on her purple Converse, "I did it because I care about you. You were down there because I didn't realize just how much how much I cared. You can't say you're a good person, Damon, but for some damn reason that I can't justify no matter how hard I try, I risked my life to save you."

Damon was silent for several minutes.

"Are you going to say something?" Addie inquired softly, running her fingers through her hair nervously.

"You asked it was possible for me not to talk for five minutes," Damon quipped back.

Addie scowled, "Time's up."

Damon spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully, "I never would have guessed you felt that way."

"That makes two of us," Addie laughed lightly. "So, imagine it from my perspective; all I have ever heard you talk about is wanting Elena. Yet, I risk my life to save you."

"Though it was your fault I was down there," Damon interject.

Addie nodded, "And do you know how much easier my life would be if I hadn't saved you?"

Damon smirked, "You'd miss me too much."

"I'd get over it," she responded flatly before continuing. "Then I wait at your house and you _kiss_ me. To make a good thing bad, you apologize for it. Worst of all, you won't tell me the real reason you say it's wrong: Elena. You want Elena more than you want me. You had just kissed who you thought was Elena! I mean, I don't have very high expectations of you but I thought you were better than to kiss me and my sister back to back."

Damon shook his head, "It's not like I cheated on either one of you! And definitely not Elena since I kissed Katherine!"

"It's the idea of me being your backup, Damon! Maybe if you were a girl you would get it or maybe if you actually actually cared about me you would," Addie sighed, making to stand up. She hadn't even told him what she came in here to say.

Damon caught an arm around her waist, pulling her down so she was flush next to him. "Listen to me carefully. 150 years ago times were different and there would have been nothing wrong with me seeing you, Your parents would be looking for a suitor for you at your age. Times have changed and it's not right; you're too inexperienced in the ways of the world. You've barely started high school You have your whole future ahead of you. I care about you just as much as I care about Elena but in two completely different ways."

Addie nodded slowly, "So, I'm like a little sis-"

Damon cut her off as his head was angled awkwardly over hers, his soft lips pressing so firmly against her own that her head sunk slightly into the over stuffed couch. He used one hand to balance himself against the back of the couch but the fingers of his others trailed up the side of Addie's neck until he cupped her jaw in his palm, the pad of his thumb gently brushing over her cheek. At first she was startled but then hesitantly cupped the back of Damon's neck, gently running her fingers through the hair that fell there. Softly, Damon nipped at her bottom lip then ran his tongue over the swollen flesh. Her lips were responsive and pliable under his. Testing his luck, he encouraged her mouth open with his. Unable to do much with her bandaged, burned hand, she rested it soft over Damon's hip. She could feel herself shaking with nerves as his silky, warm tongue slid into her mouth and caressed her own. He tasted of bourbon and mint while he detected hints of cinnamon and vanilla. As this was only her second kiss Addie was afraid she was making mistakes, still uncertain about what to do or where to place her hands so she simply followed Damon's lead. Eventually she pushed back on his chest, needing to catch her breath.

Damon settle back down next to her and ran his fingers through her hair, "It would be very unsettling if I kissed a little sister like that. Addie, you're not my backup choice. You'd be my first choice if we weren't in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Addie stared into the empty fireplace across the, her cheeks flush. Hand trembling she ran it through her hair.

"How stupid would I be to make a deal with Katherine?" she asked, feeling uncomfortable with his heated gaze on her.

"It would be like signing your death wish." Damon closed his eyes, "Please tell me you didn't."

"Keep your friends close any enemies closer," she muttered hesitantly.

Damon groaned loudly, "Ads, I swear you have some kind of death wish."

Addie shook her head, "Not a death wish, exactly. Just a desire for all vampires to leave Mystic Falls."

"All vampires?" Damon grinned cockily, arching an eyebrow.

Addie nodded, "All vampires. A schoolgirl crush doesn't change that I fundamentally despise who you are and what you do, Damon."

"I think you and your sister just enjoy hurting me," Damon sighed, standing.

"You've known I've always felt this ways," Addie proclaimed as Damon headed out of the room. "Hey!" she called out, stopping him in his tracks. "You owe me one for last night," Addie declared pointedly.

"It was your-" Damon began to protest.

"You owe me," Addie said slowly. "I need to borrow you uncanny ability to listen to Taylor Swift without flinching Tuesday night."

Damon rolled his eyes, "Why?"

"Bonnie was suppose to go to the concert in Richmond with me but she's grounded for failing a chem test," Addie shrugged.

"Fine," Damon scowled.

Addie smirked, "Perfect. We leave at 8 in the morning."

Damon looked at her like she was speaking Chinese.

"I want to be at the barricade," the younger girl smiled innocently.

"Does anyone know you're skipping school for this?" he scoffed, trying to hold back a laugh at her excitement.

Addie looked at him menacingly, "Only Bonnie but if anyone else finds out, I'll have her do that witchy migraine pain thing on you until you pass out."

"Yes," Damon glowered, "because I am sooooo going to boast to all my friends about going to see T-Swizzle. I can't wait to post it on my twitter."

"Dickhead," Addie laughed, throwing the pillow she had been playing with at him but his vampire reflexes caught it with ease.

* * *

**A/N: I am very excited to start writing this part of the story! So much is going to start happening! Eek! I hope you guys are excited for the next installment!**


	14. Chapter 17

The sounds of Elena yelling at Damon to stop something and a loud thud and crashing against a wall sent Addie running through the adjoining bathroom and into her sister's room. Quickly, her deep blue eyes flashed around the room looking for the vampire but he was no where to be seen. That's when she heard Elena sobbing, whispering the name of their brother over and over again. Spying them next to Elena's bookcase, Addie rushed to them and fell to her knees on the other side of Jeremy, covering her mouth in horror at the way his neck was twisted.

"W-w-what happened?," Addie stammered, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Elena shook her head and all she could sob out was, "Damon."

Addie wanted to hold Jeremy's head but Elena did not look like she was going to let that happen so Addie reached for his hands, hoping to hold them while they were warm just one last time. Blinking slowly she studied a very familiar ring on her brother's right hand that she had never seen him wear before. Addie began to sob.

"Elena. Elena. Elena!" Addie cried, tugging on her sister's arm, desperate for her attention. When Elena finally looked at her she held out Jeremy's right hand for her sister to inspect.

Elena shook her head in frustration, tears blurring her eyes, "What, Addison? What the hell is so damn important? Jeremy is _dead._"

"The ring!" Addie insisted, shaking her brother's limp hand. "It's just like Mr. Saltzman. I think it's Uncle John's. Jeremy is going to be ok. He can't be killed by something supernatural," Addie gasped, wiping tears from her face.

Elena's eyes focused just long enough to recognize the ring. "Get me my cellphone, please?" she asked her sister through tears.

"Why did Damon kill my brother?" Addie sniffed not moving.

"I - He - He was upset. He tried to kiss me and when I wouldn't, he just snapped," Elena whispered, tears falling harder.

Addie shook her head in disgust before she grabbed the phone off the bed and handed it to her sister. She reluctantly headed downstairs; she wanted to be with Jeremy but she really didn't want to overhear Elena talking with Stefan. Ten minutes later the doorbell rang. Addie had to use every ounce of civility she had to answer it, knowing who it was. She was sick of fucking vampires.

"Make yourself at home," she snarled towards Stefan. "Your brother sure did when he snapped my brother's next."

Stefan looked at her gently and she could tell he was about to start making excuses for Damon, "Addie-"

"No!" she held up her hand in protest. "Save it for the one who gives a damn about what you say. Nothing you can say will make me reconsider the idea of slamming a stake through his heart "

Addie pulled out her phone and called the recently added number.

* * *

"Thanks for meeting me," Addie smiled grimly at the woman who could pass for her sister.

Katherine grinned, "Of course. Please, sit."

Addie slid into the dinner booth across from the vampire and raked her hand through her hair nervously. A waitress came over and asked them if they would like anything to drink. Two coffees.

"You wanted to talk about Damon?" Katherine implored, drumming her perfectly manicured nails on the slightly greasy tabletop.

Addie cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter, "I don't suppose you would consider just flat out killing him, or at least helping me kill him, would?"

Katherine arched an eyebrow and Addie frowned enviously. Yet another person who could control just one eyebrow at a time.

"What did he do to bring on this sudden wrath?" Katherine intoned curiously

"He killed my brother," Addie seethed.

The waitress slid a coffee in front of each girl.

Katherine's eyes went wide, "Seriously?"

"Sort of," Addie muttered, furiously shaking four sugar packets into her cup. "Jeremy was wearing a magic ring that prevents him from being killed by a supernatural entity but it wasn't like Damon was aware of that. So basically, in his mind, he was killing my brother for good."

"He is seriously unstable," Katherine sighed, shaking her head sadly.

Addie looked up slowly, her hand still holding an empty creamer over her coffee cup. "He's like that because of you!"

"True," Katherine agree, taking a sip of her black coffee.

"And my sister for stringing him along, as well," Addie put in as an afterthought. "She not as good a manipulator as you; she couldn't manage both brothers at once. I mean, he did snap my brother's neck after she refused to kiss him. And, not that I'm defending Damon, but more that I'm hating my sister, she has been stringing Damon along for months. he just won't admit she wants both him and Stefan because she doesn't want to be like you."

"I'm hurt," Katherine pouted before she smirked. "It takes a certain finesse to handle both at the same time.."

Addie nodded, not really caring, "So about killing Damon?"

"You're on your own with that one," Katherine replied, shaking her head. "I wouldn't try it if I were you. Of course, he does have feelings for you and he does owe you for saving his life. Somewhere in that black heart of his lurks a soul; if you've reached it, he might just hand you the stake and show you right where to aim."

"How do you know he has feelings for me," Addie asked, her eyes narrowing.

Addie was reminded so much of Elena looking down at her as Katherine rolled her eyes, "I didn't just show up out of nowhere. I watched for a little while; collected the important intell."

"Not enough to fool me," Addie countered.

Katherine grinned, "No, I underestimated you. Kind of glad I did."

"Yes, I am quite certain you will manipulate me to your advantage," Addie nodded, speaking lightly.

"You're right," the vampire giggled. "Though, I'm still thinking about how I want to do that," Katherine mused.

Addie sat back and sighed, figuring it would just be best to lay her cards on the table. "I'll admit that I have my own agenda. I simply want vampires out of Mystic Falls. I gathered from John that you were behind the tomb vampires being rounded up. I take that to mean you don't really care whether or not vampires are here."

"You surmise correctly," Katherine said approvingly.

"Only vampires left are you, Stefan, and Damon?" Addie assumed raising her eyebrows. When Katherine nodded, Addie continued. "I'm willing to let you use me however you need to in order to get you guys out of her."

"Would you be willing to kill your sister?" Katherine jumped in.

Addie took a long sip of coffee, "I want you guys gone so I can protect my family so, even though I wish we weren't related most of the time, no. I'd have to live with this guilty feeling where as I prefer to go through life not really giving a damn."

Katherine waved her hand dismissively, "Understandable. Part of my problem is that I'm going to be dogging Damon and Stefan; they'll be obsessed with what I'm up to."

Addie nodded, "They already are. Damon's plan is to ignore you and hopefully lure you out so you'll make a move. However, I'm willing to bet on Damon's obsessive nature and say that you two had a run in at some point yesterday." Katherine cocked her head and raised a shoulder noncommittally. Addie grimaced, "And since Damon seems to only know how to feel two things, I have a pretty good idea of what happened considering you're sitting in front of me and _you _didn't end up killing _him. _Plus, the fact that he shot way past crazy and went full on mental last night paints and even clearer picture."

"Is your sister this smart?" Katherine inquired, the briefest look of concern flashing through her eyes.

"I'm not that smart, only observant. My sister has always walked around with her head in the clouds," Addie snorted derisively. " Elena isn't anyone to be worried about; she thought the best way to get information on you was to go to John. Why she thought a man was going to confess the secrets of someone who tried to kill him is beyond me. Even Damon's idea was better than her's, if only marginally. She got the looks; I got the common sense."

"Thanks for the compliment," Katherine grinned, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "You did get both though and that is something we're going to work on after we finish this, I think. How would _you_ go about figuring out what I'm up to?

Addie shrugged and answered honestly, "I'd do what I'm doing now; offering to be or do whatever you need from me. I'm not delusional like my sister and believe that I can figure out what you're entirely up to but I've already figured out more than they did with their plans; you need them not snooping around. Though, to be honest, I don't really care what you're up to as long as my friends and family aren't getting caught in the crossfire. You could be after a weapon of mass destruction to blow up Guam and I wouldn't care. The people I love aren't in Guam. I'd feel really bad for Guam, but again, I'm not stupid enough to think I can stop you. Ignoring what you are and that you could simply stop me in my tracks that way, you have at least 150 years of experience and intelligence and tact. Plus, I'm not a very good liar so you would see through what I was trying to do before I even thought of it. "

"Smart, flattering and selfish," Katherine smiled. "I might just decide to like you, for a human."

Addie smirked, "I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"Oh, it most definitely is, darling," Katherine beamed a pearly white smile. "It makes you perfect for what I want you to do. Especially since I know you're a much better liar than you think. You doubt yourself because you're too emotional but if you keep remembering why you do as I say, your emotions will completely shut down, It's all about the right motivation."

"And what is it that you will be telling me to do?" Addie said cautiously.

"Anything to get the vampires out of here, right?" Katherine sternly implied, sensing the younger girl's sudden hesitation.

Addie nodded, swallowing hard, "But, of course if I'm too obvious, Stefan, Elena and Damon will know something is up."

Katherine grinned, steepling her fingers over her empty coffee cup, "Oh, I'm counting on obvious. There's already suspicion; we just need to work it up so a lot more attention is on you and not on me." She snickered at the baffled look on Addie's face. "I need you to distract Damon. If his focus is all on you, Elena's is all over both of you with jealousy and anger and sibling rivalry, meaning Stefan is spazzing out over Damon trying some trick to get Elena and Elena wanting Damon. Their minds will be running on hamster wheels with no time for me."

"You sure we can't just revisit the idea of killing Damon?" Addie meekly suggested, running her fingers through her hair. "Distracting Damon sounds potentially hazardous to my health, I really want him dead but he'd probably kill me first."

Katherine smirked, "Oh, you piss him off in ways I've never seen but he won't kill you. He can't kill you."

"Your words do nothing to reassure me," Addie responded flatly.

"You'd be useless to me dead so this is one of the few things you can fully trust me on; Damon isn't capable of killing you," Katherine said slowly.

Addie gave her a stony, disbelieving look, "What makes you so sure?"

Katherine looked around the empty dinner in thought for a minute, "Let's just say that you are the only person there is no chance of Damon killing and that's why I need you to do this. You're not going to wind up dead."

"I'm pretty sure he'd kill me before Elena or Stefan, actually, before a lot of people."

"No," Katherine replied certainly. "You make Damon feel a third emotion; he wouldn't risk losing it."

Addie scowled, "He has a very funny way of not risking it by killing my brother."

"Like I said, you drive him crazy in ways I've never seen but I also know that you could get him to do thing that he would never do. If you didn't speak to him long enough, he would apologize but we don't have that kind of time so you're going to him," Katherine clapped, rubbing her hands together.

"Uh-huh. Now I'm wondering if _you're_ crazy. Damon doesn't apologize. At least he doesn't actually mean it when he does," Addie snorted, remembering the night of the fire when they talked on his porch.

Katherine smiled, unoffended, "Not crazy, just several hundred years wiser. That third emotion is your safety net."

"And what is this mystical, all powerful third emotion?" Addie asked skeptically, wiggling her fingers at Katherine as if she was talking about something magical.

The vampire smirked, "You're a smart girl; you'll figure it out."

* * *

"Strawberry blond," Katherine grinned, holding up a swatch of dyed hair next to Addie's face so she could see it in the mirror, "or plum maroon?"

Addie made a sour face at both colors as she sat in the salon chair, "Tell me again why this plan requires me to dye my hair?"

"You look too much like me," Katherine pointed out obviously, "and your sister, I guess. We want Damon to see only you. So which color?"

"Why one of these?" Addie protested. Both would definitely make her stand out; she preferred to blend with the crowd.

Katherine quickly retorted, "Because I like the way they look with your complexion and so will Damon."

"Isn't this a little extreme? We could just go with lighter brown highlights," Addie perked up, hopefully.

"Your entire head is either going to be strawberry blond or plum maroon within the next hour," Katherine hissed. "If you don't pick then I will."

Addie groaned, "Can we just call it purple? Plum maroon sounds dumb."

"No; it has red hues to it."

Addie repressed a shudder. Not only did Katherine and Elena look-alike but they sounded alike.

"Fine," Addie drawled out dramatically. "Plum maroon it is."

"Just what I would have picked," the vampire grinned. "Now about how you're going to cut it-"

"Nu-uh. I'm not cutting my hair. You can color it, you can style it, but you cannot cut it. I draw the line there, Katherine," Addie glared at the vampire through the mirror.

Katherine held up a finger as she flipped through a book of hairstyles.

"Katherine," Addie warned, tempted to just walk out of the salon. So be it if Katherine killed her for it.

The other girl held up a picture in front of Addie of a girl with a short, spiky bob and long, sweeping bangs that covered one eye.

"Hell no."

"Not the cut," Katherine rolled her eyes. "Just the bangs. The only difference to how you already wear it is that you part your hair on the left instead of down the middle in the morning. It's nothing major. It will look really good on you!"

"Again," Addie heaved, "how does this relate to the plan?"

Katherine smirked knowingly, "Damon doesn't like it when hair falls into a girl's eye. It give him an excuse to touch you."

"Yeahhhhhhh, let's just kill him. I don't think I want him touching me."

"What? You didn't enjoy his kiss?" Katherine asked innocently.

Addie turned beet red, "How-how do you know that?"

The other girl laughed, "Damon's never tasted like traces of cinnamon and vanilla."

"This is so disturbing. This cannot be happening. I will wake up and everything that has happened from the moment I met Damon will have just been one very long nightmare," Addie muttered, sinking down into the styling chair.

"Oh, get over it. It's your life. It's happening. He probably tried to kill your brother because I told him it was always Stefan I loved and Elena just added to that rejection," Katherine mused. "He really shouldn't ask questions he doesn't want to know the answers to."

Addie buried her face in her hands, "First you pick Stefan and then Elena picks Stefan and now I'm suppose to toy with him? He is most definitely going to kill me."

"Oh, honey," Katherine laughed, patting Addie's shoulder, "I'm way more worried about him toying with you." Addie peared through her fingers at the vampire curiously. "We can get his attention but that doesn't change what you like to call his 'obsessive nature' or the simple fact that in the past 150 years, he's become a bit of a party boy."

Addie shook her head, "I can control Damon. Probably...Can someone compel you to do something without saying anything if they already have a very vague but strong compulsion on you?"

Katherine dropped into the empty styling chair next to Addie and spun her so that they faced each other. Addie could see the anger flickering in her eyes, "No, they can't. You're just now telling me he has you under compulsion?"

"It doesn't have anything to do with you," Addie quickly said defensively causing Katherine's anger to somewhat dissipate. "Besides, I don't even think he did it right. He compelled me the very first time we met and then he had to compel me again for the exact same thing like six weeks ago."

Katherine studied her curiously. "What does he have you compelled to do? And why would he uncompel you just to do it again?"

Addie huffed, rolling her eyes, "He has me compelled to take control of my life, which kind of made my life better at first, but now it's just making me confused and Damon's making me jump through all these impossible hoops in order for him to take it off. And he didn't uncompel me, at least not on purpose. My history teacher kind of killed me, so against my request, Damon took it upon himself to use his blood to heal me. When I woke back up he realized I wasn't compelled anymore and quickly remodified that situation."

"He undid it by giving you his blood," Katherine nodded slowly, looking off into space.

"Huh? How do you know?" Addie demanded curiously.

"Madison Gilbert, 1863. I discovered it completely by accident. I found if I compelled her, sent her to the brink of death, then saved her, she wouldn't be compelled anymore. Eventually I hurt her less and less and so she needed less and less blood to be healed but I guess a tolerance or something built up so that each time she would become uncompelled. I tried just a pin prick after the very first time it happened but she remained compelled so she _had to have_ built up a strength or tolerance because eventually, I wasn't able to compel her anymore. No vampire could compel her," Katherine spoke distantly, lost in another time.

"Let me get this straight," Addie said slowly. "You repeatedly hurt this Madison Gilbert person and compelled her over and over again until she was immune to all compulsion?"

Katherine shrugged, "Pretty much."

"You know, the picture is just becoming clearer and clearer," Addie laughed in amazement.

Katherine raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"First, I couldn't understand why someone would want to live for eternity, trapped as a teenager, but if you can experiment on humans without the slightest bit of remorse, well, the scientific possibilities are endless. I would definitely do some less than ethical psychological studies," Addie said feigning excitement. "Then, there's Damon, the self-proclaimed serial killer. I just could not wrap my head around the idea of someone being so disturbingly obsessed but it makes sense when you compare it to what you did. It makes serial killing look sympathetic; the person only suffers through agony once. He's in love with a goddess, in his mind."

"Your sarcasm is hilarious," Katherine yawned,

"Frankly, I'm just pushing my luck and seeing how long it takes before you snap and kill me," Addie snorted.

Katherine's eyes narrowed to slits, "I've decided; I like you."

"I think that means I should definitely re-examine my moral character," Addie muttered, horrified.

"Don't bother," Katherine laughed. "You are disgustingly ethical. It makes me nauseous. But you're quick and feisty. I can't think of anyone else stupid enough to talk to me the way you do."

Addie's lips twitched in a half grin, "I like to think of it as living on the edge rather than being stupid. Call me a thrill seeker. It gets my adrenaline pumping to insult the most terrifying vampires I know."

"I'm flattered you find me terrifying," Katherine smirked back. "I know half the stuff you say is just to get a rise out of someone. I'm not your sister. I'm not Damon. I don't throw temper tantrums like a whiny little kid. Insult me all you want; it's amusing watching you string things together. Sometimes you come up with something clever or funny, even. The other half of what you say is because _you're_ being a whiny little kid. I have little patience for that. If I wanted to deal with that I would have spent the past 150 years with Damon."

Addie opened her mouth to protest that she wasn't at all like Damon.

Katherine wagged a finger at her as if she had been a naughty child, "Whiny."

Addie crossed her arms, pouting. Katherine laughed.

"I never told Damon about my trials on Madison Gilbert. He knows nothing about it. Were you able to keep up with the point I was trying to make?" Katherine asked conversationally as the beautician came over and began to work on Addie's hair.

"Ohhh, I understood you point," Addie scoffed, "but I'm not that stupid."

Katherine's voice was super sweet as she asked, "Don't you trust me?"

"Hell. No. I believe the story but I'm not letting you do that to me," Addie spoke cautiously, aware that the hairdresser was listening.

"I wouldn't let you do anything stupid," Katherine sighed dismissively.

Addie pointed at Katherine, "Your definition of stupid is very different from mine," she finished, pointing at her head. "Besides, I could come back around and have less friends or family members than I did when treatment began."

Katherine laughed, "I am so glad you're not a trusting fool."

* * *

Addie dug her Converse clad heels into the ground as Katherine dragged her to the building next to the salon where the window read, "Tattos, Piercings, and Belly Rings here."

"I lied. I'm not willing to do anything. Find another minion. I am not getting a tattoo," Addie objected loudly.

"You're not getting a tattoo," Katherine smirked. "You're getting a piercing."

Addie shook her head, "Nahhhh. You see, I already have my ears pierced but I don't even wear earrings! Piercings just aren't my thing."

"You know, we'd get this all over with a lot faster if you stopped objecting to everything I demand," glared the vampire.

"But where would the fun be in that?" Addie grinned innocently. "Plus, I really don't like these ideas. I know you're gonna get your way because of the fangs and all but I need to preserve the little dignity I have and at least try and protest. For example, I need a guardian to get a piercing."

Katherine looked at her as if she just said she couldn't get a piercing because she was made of water.

"Damn dirty vampire tricks," Addie muttered. "Coloring my hair is one thing but everyone is going to know something is up if I come back with a piercing."

Katherine rolled her eyes, "That's partly why you need one. You're going to be going through a rebellious phase. What other, logical reason would have you spending so much time with Damon? Plus, it will look cute!"

"My grand cover up is a rebellious phase?!" Addie rubbed her temple, feeling a headache coming on. "I know you are brilliant but have you really thought this through?"

"Entirely," beamed Katherine, pulling Addie into the dingy shop. "My friend here would like a diamond nose stud," the vampire barked at the man lounging behind a glass case of jewelry, his feet propped up on it.

He looked up from his magazine and glanced them over, "Only if you have an ID saying you're 18 or a parent signing a waiver."

Katherine shoved the guy's feet off the counter. "You will pierce her nose without an ID or parental waiver," she growled, looking the man in the eye.

"And belly button," Addie whispered in Katherine's ear, earning herself a raised eyebrow. "If I'm having a rebellious phase I might as well get something I've always wanted out of it," she muttered defensively.

"And pierce her belly button," Katherine finished compelling the piercer before rolling her eyes.

The guy nodded in agreement, "I will pierce her. Pick out your jewelry."

Katherine pointed to a 14k white gold stud with a small diamond and a belly button ring with a cubic zirconia at the top and a sparkling moon at the bottom with three stars dangling from it. Addie looked at her quizzically. "Damon likes stargazing."

Addie rolled her eyes in frustration and followed the other girl. It wasn't like she had any intention of showing this piercing to Damon. However, she was going to let Katherine believe whatever she wanted for now as she wasn't up for losing a fight.

* * *

The vervain dart picked from Alaric Saltzman desk rolled back and forth against Addie's knuckles as she spun it through her finger. She gave the boarding house a dark look, not particularly in the mood for a friend chat with Damon Salvatore. Kicking a rock in anger, Addie finished her trek up the long driveway and knocked lightly on the door. Maybe her knock had been so quiet he hadn't heard. No such luck. Addie groaned internally as the door swung open.

"Well, well, well, my little Ads is full of surprise," Damon smirked, taking a long drink from a tumbler. "Can't say I was expecting you. Or a completely new you in," he glanced at the grandfather clock in the hall, "just over 24 hours."

"A lot has happened," Addie answered flatly, pushing her new bangs out of her face. They had been driving her crazy all day.

Damon continued smirking but raised a questioning eyebrow, "Clearly. Care to come in?"

Addie rolled her eyes and pushed past him, feeling the vervain dart press reassuringly on her hip in her pocket. She headed to the gigantic space they considered a living room. Without invitation she took a seat on the couch and glared into the fire. She was not going to waste pleasantries on Damon.

"You killed my brother," she ground out, spying him out of the corner of her eye.

Damon scrunched up his face in disagreement, "Only kind of. I killed him but he came back to life just fine."

"You snapped his neck. Whether he is alive or not now is not the point; you still killed him," Addie shot back, glaring at him. "He's hell bent on killing you, now."

"You should probably work on convincing him otherwise or else I'll have to kill him again," Damon simply shrugged before draining his glass and setting it down. Meanwhile, Addie slipped the vervain dart out of her pocket and began spinning it again.

She shook her head, "I don't know. I'm of the mind that I should help him. Between the two of us…"

For the first time Damon notice the dart. "Trying to use that would be extremely stupid of you," he warned, holding his hand out for the vampire poison.

"You were stupid to kill my brother," Addie smiled innocently.

Damon made to swipe at the vervain dart but Addie was expecting it and shot her hand behind her back.

"Sloppy reflexes," Addie chidded, dropping the dart down her shirt.

Damon gave a throaty laugh, "You're really naive if you don't think I will reach in there and grab it."

Addie shrugged, "Maybe I'm daring you to."

Damon stepped right up to her, until he was towering over her seated form. Addie slapped a hand to her forehead and groaned loudly.

"Do you have any idea how pathetically predictable you are," Addie snapped, pulling the dart out from under her shirt and tossing it on the floor.

Damon's eyes narrowed, "What are -"

"Katherine can predict exactly what you will do, down to when you would go for the dart and what you would do to get it! She knows you so well that she has devised a fucking plan to keep you from figuring out why she is here!" Addie ranted, rubbing at her temples. "And seriously, Damon?! Have you spent a day with the bitch? I thought no one could be bossier than Elena but apparently she inherited that from Katherine, too. Your taste in woman is very disturbing."

Damon sat down and looked at Addie, crossing his arms, his lips were pressed into a hard, thin line. "You want to take a step back and fill me in?"

"Do you know how disturbing it is to hear from my sister's look-alike that I apparently taste like cinnamon and vanilla, which she learned via your mouth?" Addie blushed scarlet as she slapped Damon's arm, the pale skin reddening under his thin white t-shirt.

"When did you and Katherine talk?" Damon quizzed accusatorially.

"Oh, I've had the great honor of doing nothing but listening to Katherine since we met for coffee at ten this morning," Addie grinned falsely.

Damon snorted, "I told you not to make a deal with her. What did she want?"

"Actually," Addie's voice was colder than ice, "I arranged the meeting. I wanted to know if she'd help me kill you. Let me remind you that you killed my brother, in case you forgot."

"And what did she say?" Damon's words were just as cold.

"No, obviously. So then we went on to discuss our deal. I help her get what she wants and in the end Mystic Falls is free of all vampire; including you and Stefan.

Damon rolled his stormy blue eyes, "You're an idiot. Especially if you think Katherine can make us leave."

"We didn't agree to you leaving alive. And I'm sorry," Addie apologized, cocking her head inquisitively. "did your plan of ignoring her get you any information or just combine with pain of rejection from my sister and make you hurt so bad that you had to kill my brother to make my sister feel pain?"

"Careful," Damon warned. "You're walking on very thin ice."

Addie shook her head and corrected him, "I walk on thin ice with Katherine. Dealing with you is like putting up with a whiny little child who acts out when he doesn't get his way."

Damon flew across the couch and press Addie against the arm of it, his fingers lightly wrapped around her throat.

"Go ahead," she challenged.

Eventually Damon's fingers left her throat and he sat back, pulling a strand of Addie's newly dyed between two fingers. He pulled it straight and then released it, watching it fall back into it's naturally wavy shape.

"I want to hear about _that_ first," he said roughly, his voice still tinged with anger.

Addie self consciously raked a hand through her hair, huffing in annoyance as the freshly cut bangs fell across one eye. "My deal with Katherine involved me being her human Barbie. Which I did not know about until she dragged me to the beauty parlour, "Addie tagged on defensively.

Damon scrutinized her, "What exactly is your part in this deal?"

"Do you like the new hair?" Addie asked nervously.

Damon reached forward and with two fingers lifted the bangs covering her eye and tucked them behind her ear. "Now, I do. It looks really...great." he answered, his voice just a shade deeper than usual.

"Don't fall for it, Damon," Addie warned, shaking her head. "You're being predictable again."

"What?" he looked at her puzzled.

"The hair color and even the bangs cut to cover my eye are all to draw you in," she sighed, feeling guilty.

Damon blinked slowly, "I'm confused."

"Katherine want to use me to keep you distracted from whatever she's doing. And if you're distracted by me, Elena is distracted from Stefan by us which leaves Stefan distracted over you and Elena. Even when she's not involved she has to create some twisted, jealousy triangle! Or would it be a rectangle since there are four people?" Addie muttered before drawing invisible lines connecting names and who would be jealous of whom.

"Focus," Damon said, snapping his finger. "Nobody cares about the shape."

Addie shook her head from side to side to clear it, "Right. Sorry."

"So, Katherine's big plan is for me to be so interested in you that I forget about her?"

"Crazy; I know."

Damon shook his head, "No, not from Katherine's perspective. You're right; she does know me too well."

"I know what you're thinking and I disagree. It's a dumb idea; she's considering your obsessive nature but she's forgetting exactly who you spent nearly 150 years obsessing over and apparently still aren't over," Addie disagree, rolling her eyes in disgust.

"I'm definitely over her but old habits die hard,' he muttered, unconsciously rubbing where Addie has slapped his arm. "Hey!" he accused. "I am not obsessive."

"Fine;you're disturbingly passionate. Better?" Addie asked, feeling like she was arguing with a five year old.

Damon stared at her, "You're an ass. So, why does this plan require a makeover? I found you attractive just the way you were."

Addie blushed, "The makeover idea was what I was fighting with Katherine about all day. Apparently I look too much like my sister and Katherine and her goal is for you to think about only me."

"I can name twenty ways off the top of my head that you looked different," Damon sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You know, after today, I'm just gonna pretend that was a compliment and roll with it," Addie muttered to herself.

Damon nudged her knee with his, "It was a compliment, Ads."

Addie rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, "So yeah, I needed my own look and we had to toss in the piercings because I'm too much of a goody-two-shoes and the only plausible reason that I'm spending so much time with you is because I'm having a rebellious phase."

"Piercings?" Damon smirked, emphasising the plurality,

"I'd say use your imagination but you'd probably come up with something way more devious than the truth."

Damon laughed, "Doubtful. You're a very innocent girl, Ads. Even if you are having a pseudo-rebellious phase. The nose stud ties it all together very well."

"You don't know that," Addie replied coolly.

Damon gave her a slow, appraising look, making her cheeks burn hot. "Point made. If there was a stamp, you can bet it would be inked on your forehead."

Addie crossed her arms self consciously, "You don't need to be a dick about it."

"Sorry," Damon chuckled. "I promise it's very adorable and endearing."

"Gee, thanks, that is so what every girl is dying to hear," Addie grumbled darkly.

"Trust me, you don't want to hear what I'm thinking," Damon smirked deviously.

"I never trust you with that look or when you say trust me," Addie admonished. "What are you thinking?"

Damon shook his head, still grinning, "You'll hit me again."

"Promise I won't," Addie appealed to him.

Damon contemplated the idea for a few moments before leaning into Addie's ear and whispering conspiratorially, "I'm thinking Katherine's handed me the excuse I've been looking for for months. I _can't_ stay away from you anymore; she'll know something's up. And I'll have to corrupt you at least a little bit. She'd never buy it if you keep walking around so obviously innocent."

"Oh, Damon," Addie frown, patting his cheek sympathetically. "You, poor, delusional man. I don't go for emotionally unavailable guys, even in schemes. You'll just have to act extra smitten so she'll buy it." Addie pulled back and grinned at him coolly.

"You can't deny that you like me, Addison," Damon asserted softly.

"No, I can't. But I am smart enough to not get involved with a guy who loves my sister and his ex from 150 years ago," Addie simply informed him.

Damon shook his head insistently, "I don't love Katherine."

"Maybe you don't but you can't say the same about my sister and that's more concerning than you loving Katherine."

Damon looked at her for a long moment, "Why are you so sure I love Elena."

"How can I not be?" Addie laughed. "You gave up the device for her. You saved Caroline for her. Elena even wrote in her diary that Isobel said you loved Elena. And do we need to go over your reaction to kissing Katherine as Elena and being a heartbroken mess?"

"I gave up the device to get _you_ back. Elena wasn't the one in danger. Maybe people see it as me wanting to appease Elena by saving her sister but I didn't even think about that. All I was concerned about was getting you back safely. I'm guessing Elena conveniently didn't write down that Isobel said I was also in love with you. Ask Stefan if you don't believe me. As for Caroline, call me stupid for trying to get to a point with your best friend where she doesn't want to kill me on site. I did that for myself, not Elena." Damon professed.

Addie shook her head, "I'm still not going to fight my sister over a guy."

"Your sister doesn't want me," Damon explained slowly.

"And if she did, you would be with her right now saying everything you did was for her,"Addie snapped. "I'm innocent, not stupid, Damon."

Damon scooted closer to Addie and began running his fingers through her hair, enjoying the way the purple looked next to his pale skin. "Ok, fine. Believe what you want. How are we going to convince Katherine that you're working with her?"

Addie tilted her head at Damon, slightly surprised, "You're going to go with me on this?"

"It's that or she kills you. Of course I'm going to help you," Damon affirmed, as if he never considered not going along with the plan.

"You know, at first, I really thought you were going to kill me for agreeing to do this. Now, I'm kind of concerned my sister is going to enact some kind of revenge," Addie muttered, dropping her head in her hands.

Damon rubbed soothing circles on her back, "Ads, you drive me ten types but I've told you before that I have no intention of killing is just another thing you have done to drive me crazy but I can either go with it or let you die, which may as well be the same as killing. Though we will probably have a big fight about this when you don't seem so freaked out."

"I was wondering why you weren't yelling," came Addie's voice, muffled by her hands. Slowly she looked up, "Katherine seems pretty damn certain that you're not going to kill me, Why is that?"

He shrugged, "She's a liar. She said whatever she had to in order to get her way."

"No, she wasn't lying about this. And you say you have no intention of killing me. What's going on, Damon," Addie demanded.

"My intentions always change," Damon forced a laugh.

Addie narrowed her eyes, "Maybe but you've had several chances to kill me and even a chance to let me die. You've said before you would have already killed people who have treated you the way I have."

"Can't you just be happy you're alive and let it go?" Damon sighed, curling a strand of hair around his finger.

"Not really. I'd kind of like to be prepared for when you're going to snap," Addie answered bitterly.

Damon pushed back the hair that had fallen into her eyes again, "I'm not going to snap."

"You don't?" Addie asked, raising her eyebrows in disbelief. "What happened last night then?"

"I'm not going to snap on you!" he retorted harshly, growing tired of the interrogation.

Addie's lips twitched in satisfaction, "Getting irritated? It's only inevitable that you snap with such a short fuse."

Damon's eyes were dark and predatory as he answered, "When I snap on you, it's not going to be to kill you, Ads. I bet you'll reckon it's far worse. I really suggest you stop pushing my buttons if you want us to work together."

* * *

**A/N: Four chapters in as many days? I'm feeling inspired. I say it's because your reviews and follows and favorites! Season two is one of my favorites and bombs will be exploding. Someone asked how I visioned Addie; below is an address of her after her fun filled day with Katherine.**

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	15. Chapter 18

Sighing deeply, Addie rested against the door she'd soundlessly locked behind her. Her deep blue eyes drifted shut, burning with tiredness. They shot back open as a voice cleared. Addie hadn't noticed Jeremy sitting on the couch, a single table lamp lighting the downstairs floor.

"Dear God, you scared," Addie hissed angrily, clutching at her racing heart.

Jeremy peered at her in disapproval as he walked towards her and blocked the stairs. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister," he ordered, crossing his arms, indicating he had no intention of moving until she answered.

"Hardy, har, har," Addie mocked. "Get out of my way, Jer. I'm tired and I want to go to bed."

Jeremy shook his head, "No, I'm serious. You see, I already have one sister with a psycho bitch running around that looks exactly like her and well, I don't exactly need another. You look like my little sister, kind of, but you can't possibly be her. Addison does not stay out until two in the morning. Also, she would never be stupid enough to dye her hair an unnatural color or punch a hole in her face and stick metal in it because both of those things are in clear violation of the school code of conduct."

"What are they going to do? Expel me?" Addie asked acting anxious.

"What's going to happen is that they're going to suspend you until you comply with regulations and Aunt Jenna is going to ground your ass," Jeremy answered authoritatively.

Addie rolled her eyes and confronted her brother, "So, you get a free pass for using drugs, passing out pills, walking around and smelling like a bar for months and I get grounded for a little hair dye and stud in my nose? Yeah, I'm not tolerating that bullshit. And the school isn't going to expel me." She pushed past her brother and began to climb the stairs, only for him to follow her.

"And what makes you think that? Are you some sort of diva that's above the rules?" he snorted.

Addie grinned at him innocently, "No; I happen to know a guy who can be very persuasive." With a little wave as his mouth fell open, Addie closed her bedroom door in his face.

She groaned as she climbed into; dealing with vampires was taxing work. She's be so anxious around Katherine that she had completely forgotten about school policy. Groaning even louder, she fished into her pocket for herself, having received a text from the vampire when she was stil with Damon.

**Kathy:** **How'd it go with Damon?**

Addie decided it would be best if she was as honest with Katherine as possible.

_Addie: He was a sucker for the makeover, just like you said he would be and acted like you predicted about the vervain dart.I have a problem, though. The hair and piercing are going to get me suspended from school._

Addie wasn't sure if she was more unnerved or relieved at how quickly Katherine replied.

**Kathy: Bat your eyelashes, remind Damon that he finds you attractive, and have him compel whoever he needs to. It's all about pulling him in. Do you have plans to see him again?**

Addie ran her fingers through her hair. She didn't want Damon doing things that might attract attention to himself.

_Addie: I'm not going to see him today/tomorrow/whatever you want to call Sunday. He asked but I lied and told him I was too busy with school. I don't plan on seeing him Monday. Tuesday, though, I am so going to enjoy watching him suffer all day. I have him picking me up at 8 in the morning so we can wait outside all day only to have him endure a Taylor Swift concert. :-)_

**Kathy: Oh, you are so mean. Surprisingly acceptable job for your first day. You'll have him eating out of the palm of your hand in no time. Does your sister know that you were with him tonight?**

A nervous chill ran down her spine at the idea of Elena knowing what she was up to and the two people she was working with.

_Addie: No and she doesn't know about the concert. Elena is going to show an interest in Damon as soon as it's obvious that he's interested in me. I don't want her finding out until I'm more certain that Damon won't go scurrying off to her. If they're together, they're gonna be wondering "what the hell does the look-alike want". Pretty certain my task is to keep anyone from asking that._

**Kathy: Precisely. Let me know if any major developments happen, otherwise just update me after the concert.**

Addie tossed her phone on the floor and buried her face into the pillow. "Ow," she muttered flatly as the fluffy cotton pushed against the tender flesh around her new piercing.

* * *

Sighing, Addie pulled on her most beat up pair of shoes; the third and final type of shoes she owned next to dozens of converse and two pairs of running shoes. She'd own the beat up pair of three-eyelet Sketcher boots since she was ten. She loved them for concerts because the faux leather material was a hard shell that kept her toes from getting stomped on, each shoe had a zipper on the side that she could easily slip money into and not worry about people trying to pickpocket her, and they added an inch and a half to her height, which she considered very beneficial as everyone always towered over her and any height boost was a win. She went into the bathroom and barely turned on the tap, not wanting to wake her sister with the sound of running water. Addie brushed her teeth, studying herself in the mirror.

The purple hair was definitely starting to grow on her; Katherine had been right about it looking good with her complexion. Her family's reaction had been very annoying though. Aunt Jenna had acted like she was pissed off and tried to pull the parental figure, like Addie thought she would, only she sucked at it. She felt really guilty for pointing out all the shit she let Jeremy get away with and she even threw Elena under the bus about sneaking out at nights to be at the boarding house. After that, Jenna had nothing to fight Addie with; Addie was right that she caused the least amount of trouble. Though she felt guilty, Addie couldn't help but be a little pissed at her aunt for not taking her job a little more seriously; it was never too late for her to actually start being authoritative instead of letting them raise themselves. Addie didn't want to face school officials on Monday and Jenna never even bothered to try and get Addie to go to school; she just let her stay in her room, hiding from her consequences.

If Jenna had taken it badly, it was nothing compared to the complete diva tantrum Elena had. It was mostly her hurling a bunch of insult about Addie always having to go and do something dramatic to get everyone's attention because it was the only way she knew how to stand out. For once, Addie didn't even bother to fight with Elena; her sister was partly right. She was doing it for attention, or at least Katherine had made her do it to get Damon's attention, which had worked too well.

Damon had texted her sunday asking about how her family reacted to the makeover but she didn't respond nor did she respond to his texts on Monday about what happened at school. Sure, she would go along with this plan of Katherine's but that didn't mean she had to be friends with Damon. Addie had given him a chance at friendship and he had done a lot of stupid things in the past week to screw everything up. She'd play him and let him think everything was fine but it never would be. She could never forgive him for what he did to Jeremy. Even seeing Jeremy dead for just a few minutes, Addie felt as if a part of her soul had turned black and died with him, If the chance for Damon to die came along again, she wouldn't make the mistake of saving him.

Addie washed her face, having to rinse it several times as she could barely splash any water on it with the tap running so low. Nex she went into her closet and looked for a long-sleeve, plaid shirt. She huffed in annoyance, realizing she owned too much plaid to choose from. Eventually she settled on a purple and black one and tugged it over her cami. Over that the put on an oversized Sun Records Studio sweatshirt from a shop out in Nashville where all the greats up to the 80's had recorded. Concert attire was all about layering, she reflected, grabbing her phone, iPod and a very nice set of Bose earbuds. She's need the sweatshirt all day, waiting in the cold. It would end up wrapped around her waist by the time the concert started. Halfway through, the long sleeve shirt would be wound around her as well, as the heat from thousands of bodies turned blazing.

Carefully, she slipped out her room, down the stairs and out the front door without making a sound. She'd been able to lock the door knob from inside but if she locked the deadbolt, the click might wake someone up. It wouldn't do to have anyone questioning why she was up and dressed at 6:30. The door knob would have to keep them safe enough; nothing besides vampires ever happened in Mystic Falls. She unlocked her bike from around a tree, just next around the back of the house and decided to cut through the woods, making the ride only three miles rather than seven if she followed the roads.

In less than 15 minutes she found herself waiting on the Salvatore's front porch, her bike locked on a tree just a little ways off into the woods. She couldn't have been sitting for no more than 15 seconds when she heard the door creak open.

"A-A-Addie?" Damon yawned, looking at her confused. "What are you doing here? I thought we leave at eight."

She tried to focus on his chest like she usually did when she talked to Damon but she found his bare chest a little distracting. Her eyes dropped to his legs but she just found the bare, well-defined muscles there even more distracting; she had started to become convinced that he didn't have legs magically levitated since she'd never even seen so much as an ankle. With him standing there in his boxers looking half- asleep, her levitation theory was quickly squashed. She looked at a point over his shoulder, feeling herself blush.

"How'd you know I was here," she choked out, making sure she didn't stutter.

Damon leaned heavily against the door, his head resting on his arm, "I heard you coming."

Addie squinted her eyes as she mused over this, "I think I would hate to have that kind of hearing. I'm sorry. I really didn't think I would wake you."

He shook his head, though it wa still pressed against his arm. Addie could see that his eyes were closed. "Normally, you wouldn't. With a psycho ex who could bust through the door any second," he waved his hand through the air as if to dismiss the idea. "I'm sure you can see why I'm sleeping very lightly. Come inside. We might as well hit the road since we're both already up. 't won't take me l-l-long to get ready," he yawned.

"Nah," Addie said shaking her head, feeling guilty for waking him. "You look like you're dead, and I don't mean in a hot, alluring vampire way. You go back to sleep and I'll take Katherine duty."

Addie knew he was really tired when he didn't fight her or have a witty comeback but simply opened the door wider and stepped to the side to let her began to head to the living room when she felt a pull on the back of her jacket. Addie turned and looked at Damon, who was a third of the way up the stairs.

"My room," he murmured, sounding like he was already drifting back to sleep.

"Uhhhhh," Addie stalled dumbly, not sure what to say.

Damon just barely shook his tired head, as if it was way too heavy to move any further. "Just want you close by if she shows up."

"Ok," Addie responded softly and followed him into his, grand, spacious bedroom. Nothing in this house was in normal proportion size, she decided, looking at Damon's California king size bed.

He got into bed, lying on his side with an arm slid under a pillow and the red blanket pulled up to his chin. He'd changed them since she had been here last she noted, remembering the black.

"Damon?" she questioned quietly as she dropped a hand over his upper bicep. She was not sure if he was still awake.

He gave a deep hum of acknowledgment.

Addie rubbed her hand up and down a small area of his arm, squeezing reassuringly. "Katherine knows we're spending the whole day together. She's pleased. You can sleep like the dead."

Damon's lips twitched, too tired to make a smile. "I could just kiss you, Ads," he mumbled, as she could see his body relax.

"I'd slap you," she said flatly.

He nodded against his pillow, "Know that. Just sleep."

Addie looked at him hesitantly She knew what he meant and she would be lying if she said she wasn't tempted. Chastizing her self for even thinking it, she icked off her shoes and headed for the chaise.. Changing her mind, she turned back to the bed and slipped under the satin cover, making sure to leave as much space between her and Damon as possible. If she was going to pretend to have a rebellious phase, she should at least indulge in it a little, right?

* * *

Addie stared at Damon's ceiling, wide awake and all too aware of the half-naked vampire only feet from her. His ceiling was smooth while hers was popcorned; it would have been much easier installing her glow in the dark stars in here. She jolted, jarred from her thoughts of plastic stars as her phone vibrated in her pocket. Slipping the plastic device out, she pushed the side button to deactivate the alarm. Damon was deep asleep, a bit of drool dribbling onto his pillow when 7:30 had rolled around and Addie couldn't bring herself to wake him. She heard waking sleepwalkers could be dangerous but her gut told her that waking Damon Salvatore could be much more risky. However, it was now 8:45 and she was going to be right against the barricade at that Taylor Swift concert, Damon and his beauty sleep be damned.

At some point he had rolled onto his stomach and turned his face towards her. She noted he'd been a very restless sleeper, kicking and moving his legs a lot. Looking at red tangled around his legs she wondered if it was possible for vampires to have restless leg syndrome. His movement had caused the blanket to fall from his chin down to his lower back. She watched as ribcage expanded and fell with slow, deep breaths. Did vampires need to breathe? Surely they had to; Elena had written in her diary that a vampire's body functions pretty normally as long as they keep a healthy diet of blood. If you cut them, they bled red, oxygenated blood. Plus, blood would have to go through the muscular system for them to be alive, or at least act like it. Yet, it went against all the vampire lore she had ever read; they weren't suppose to need air. Realizing she was getting of track again, she mentally slapped herself and refocused on the task at hand.

"Damon…" she hissed quietly cupping her hands around her mouth. Rolling her eyes at herself, she couldn't help but think about how stupid she looked, like a kid trying to inconspicuously whisper in class and failing badly.

"Damon," she said a little louder but more firmly.

"Damon," she called softly in a sing-song voice, carefully placing her hand on his upper back, meaning to shake him.

Before she could even see him move, she knew Damon was up. Both her wrist were in a tight grasp and above her head, with another hand wrapped around her throat, pushing just hard enough on major arteries and veins that lights twinkled against Damon's ceiling.

"Do you need to breathe or is it just reflex?" Addie choked out.

"Wha-Ads?" she heard Damon roughly whispered, confused. His grip on her wrist slackened enough for her to pull away and his hand fell away. Addie caught the briefest glimpse of dark veins spreading out and under his eye before he dropped his head next to hers, making her own bounce slightly. "I almost killed you! Haven't you heard not to wake a sleeping vampire?" he growled against her ear.

Addie put her hands against his bare chest to shove him away but was distracted again. "Your heart beats," she murmured, stating the obvious. "Do you need to breathe for it to be or will it do it on its own?" she asked curiously, subconsciously tapping a finger against his heart in tune with its beat.

Damon laughed, sounding deeper from sleep and studied her face for a moment, "What's with the sudden fascination with my breathing and how or why my heart beats?"

"I was just thinking. Legally, what makes someone dead is their heart not beating so by theory, if you're a vampires, which are corpses according to the Oxford dictionary, your heart can't beat, because a corpse is dead, right?"

Damon looked at her blanky, more interested in her hands on his bare chest than trying to understand her insane theory.

Addie took his silence for confirmation and continued, "However, you bleed red blood which can only happen if your heart pumps blood to your lungs, where it becomes oxygenated, and then is distributed throughout your body because in order for it to function, it needs oxygen and other nutrients in blood. So for you to basically live your heart has to beat but by medical definition, if your heart is beating you're not dead. I mean if your heart is beating wouldn't a more accurate term be cannibal since your heart beat? It just doesn't make sense! There's no logic to it!"

Damon had noticed her speech becoming for frantic and erratic the longer she talked and the finger tapping against his chest was in tune with a beat much faster than his heart. He grabbed Addie's chin and made her look at his face. He waited while she looked everywhere but his eye, like she always did. When he eventually caught her gaze he smiled, "Ten types of crazy, Ads; you drive me ten types of crazy. It's called the supernatural and unexplainable for a reason."

"Yeah, ok," she dismissed, moving his hand off her chin. "So, need to breathe? Yes? No? What is it?"

Damon shook his head, "If I answer, will you stop this insanely pointless conversation?"

"Fine," she pouted, still wanting to map out the matter but unable to do more without Damon's answer.

"I think it's a bit of both," he shrugged simply, rolling onto his back.

Addie gaped at him, "You're seriously giving me an 'I don't know' for answer."

"I gave you my opinion," he explained slowly.

"I don't care about your damn opinion, Damon! I want facts," Addie snapped.

Damon sat up and looked at her, his eyes suddenly hard, "See, that's exactly what your problem is. You _need_ to know the _facts_ about everything. You can't just accept that some things are the way they are." Irritated, Damon climbed out of bed and grabbed a towel from a dresser drawer, all while talking, "We probably need to breath if we don't want to dessicate. I do it without thinking but I can hold my breath far longer than any human. If I kept drinking blood but not breathing, my blood wouldn't become oxygenated so while I might have blood pumping through me, it would probably be full of carbon dioxide or some shit and would slowly cause my body to shut down until I reflexively started breathing again. That's my opinion, _Doctor_ Gilbert.

Addie huffed in frustration and made for the living room as Damon went into the doorless bathroom. It was going to be a very long day. Thankfully, Damon was quick to get ready just like he said he would be.

"You left these behind. I expect you might need the," he smirked setting Addie shoes next to her.

"Thanks," she mumbled, putting them back on.

Damon crossed his arms and stared down at her, "Are you going to be pissy all day, now?"

Addie grumbled something that sounded to Damon like "Not pissy."

"You know," Damon called, heading into the kitchen for a glass of O+, "just because you're working with Katherine doesn't mean you have to have her mood swings."

Addie snapped at Damon quickly, loud enough for him to hear in the kitchen, "I am not like Katherine."

Damon rinsed out his empty glass before putting it in the dishwater. "On the contrary. I could make a list of the ways you're like her," Damon smirked, walking towards the door and grabbing his keys.

"I would strongly advise against it if you want to live to see another day," Addie warned Damon as he grabbed a leather jacket from the hall closet. He must have had ten black jackets hanging in there. "Is there even a difference between all those?" Addie scoffed.

Protectively, Damon clutched the jacket to his chest, "Yes. Each one has its own personality. This one says "please-do-me-a-favor-and-kill-me-so-i-don't-get-charged-with-publicly-strangling-this-kid" because I'm being positive and assuming I won't kill you on the way there."

Addie rolled her eyes and pushed Damon towards the door, "It's far more likely that I will murder you."

Damon shook his head, opening the door for her and locking it behind himself. "No. If you were going to kill me, you would have done it by now."

"You don't know that," she countered as Damon opened and closed the passenger car door. "I'm a very indecisive person. I haven't made up my mind yet."

"Fffffine," Damon exaggerated. "I trust that you're not going to kill me today."

Addie pursed her lips, crossed her arms and stared at him, "You sound very sure of yourself."

"Oh, I am." Damon flashed her a grin. "You need a bodyguard to protect you from all the other screaming fangirls and you need a chauffeur. I'm particularly useful to you today. Besides, if you were going to kill me, you are smart enough to know that you should have done it when I was passed out."

"Speaking of that, you know you drool in your sleep?" Addie smirked.

"I do not," Damon replied, offended.

Addie nodded, "You definitely do. You also seem to think you're a ninja; you're constantly kicking."

"How do you know? You were suppose to be sleeping," Damon accused.

"Couldn't sleep," Addie shrugged distractedly, tapping at her phone.

Damon rolled his eyes. Cell phones had to be one of the worst inventions he had come across in his lifetime. "Why not?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

Addie set the device in her lap, done with it for the moment. "Something about a half-naked vampire inviting me into his bed and me actually being stupid enough to get in," she laughed bitterly, raking her fingers through her hair.

"Hey! I was a perfect gentleman," proclaimed Damon.

"I know!" Addie gasped. "I'm not sure if I'm more offended or relieved."

"Shut up," he snickered, resting his arm against the seat and playfully tugging at Addie's hair.

She went to swat at his hand but Damon frowned when she reached for the cell that began buzzing in her lap instead.

"Who's so important?" he asked casually.

"Uh, Katherine," Addie hesitated as she thought of what to type back.

Damon briefly closed his eyes before focusing back on the empty highway. "Why are you talking to her?"

Addie shrugged, "She wants regular reports and to let her know if anything significant happened."

"You talked to her after you left Saturday night, right?" he asked slightly concerned.

Addie took a pause from texting to look at him as if he were growing a third eye, "Noooo. I thought it would be a good idea to ignore the bitch."

"Don't mock me," Damon scowled. "Besides, you've ignored every attempt I've made to try and contact you since then but apparently Katherine doesn't even have to tell you to jump and you do. What could have possibly happened between Saturday and now that is important enough to tell her?"

Addie could feel her own irritation at Damon rise as his voice betrayed his. "Of course I ignored you, Damon! I can be cordial for the sake of this stupid plan but at the end of the day you still killed my brother and I hate you for that. Remember that. Any thing nice I say or do is all to make sure Katherine's plan works."

Damon laughed harshly, "I'll remember. Elena looks like Katherine but you're her real mini-me. You should remember that you're the one playing both sides. One false step, one accidental slip and whoops! I've blown your whole cover. And know that Katherine will get rid of you the second you cease to be useful. You need me no matter how much you hate me. You can try and be as manipulative as Katherine but I'm not buying it. You can't even compare to her skills."

Addie buried her face in her hands, pressing her palms against her stinging eyes. She was grateful for the hair that surrounded her bowed head like a curtain. Her phone vibrated next to her, reminding her that she hadn't answered Katherine.

"Why the hell does Katherine need to know you were in my bed?" Damon snapped angrily.

Addie peered at him from a gap in her hair before pressing back on her eyes. She really didn't care if he went through her phone at this point. It wasn't like she had anything to hide.

"It's complicated," Addie muttered.

"Then uncomplicate it," Damon growled.

Certain she wasn't going to cry anymore, Addie flipped her hair over her shoulder and glared at Damon with a false confidence. "Why doe it matter?"

Damon's already pale knuckle turned white as he wrench at the steering wheel. "Because I don't think it's any of her damn business," he gritted out.

"Are you intentionally being dense?" Addie retorted, throwing her hands up in frustration. "We fucking talked about this until 2AM on Sunday when we could finally come to something we agreed upon. You're the one who said it's best to give Katherine as much detail as possible!"

"Not about that," Damon growled.

Addie shook her head, "I wasn't going to tell her _that_ because _that _never happened! We agreed that the safest thing was to be as honest as possible. You think the first thing I'm going to tell her is that kind of a lie?!"

"Honestly, I'd rather you tell her we fucked!" Damon snapped.

Addie felt lost and tired. Tired of the fighting. "Not even my psycho sister would believe that!"

"It's better than the truth," he snarled, teeth bared.

"I don't get what's soooo bad," Addie sighed, weary of how angry he was. She noticed he was going at least 30 miles an hour above the speed limit.

"No! Of course you don't!" he barked back. Minutes of silence passed until the sound of his hand smacking against the steering wheel rang through the car, scarring Addie. "Damn it, Addison! I _trusted_ you."

Addie could feel the blood as it pulsed through her head, neck, and racing heart. It had been a long time since she had been this angry. "Yeah and I was starting to trust you but then you snapped my brother's neck," she yelled, surprising herself. Addie wasn't a yeller; the only people she yelled at were her mother and Elena. If anyone else made her angry, she'd breakdown in tears of frustration.

"He's alive! Get over it!" Damon yelled right back.

"Noooo," Addie drawled out loudly. She took a few minutes to recollect herself and tried to rationalize with him, "I don't understand why you're so angry. I don't get how I've possibly broken your trust."

Damon laughed bitterly and shook his head, "You've had me fooled all this time; trying to make me thing I wanted you as a friend, crying on my shoulder…. It was all one very good act, Addison, but you just slipped up. Your toying with me easily puts your sister's to shame. Hell, if you had 150 years, you'd probably have me more fooled than Katherine did!"

Addie ran her fingers through her hair and sighed sadly, "I still have no fucking clue what you're talking about but I _told_ her you'd come out of this thinking I was toying with you."

"Oh, well, at least you one-upped Katherine," Damon sneered.

"You know what, Damon? Unless you tell me what I did that was so horrible, I'm just not going to give a fuck. Fighting with you all the time? It's just not worth the energy if you're going to be an asshole," Addie shrugged, looking out the window.

Addie leaned her forehead against the cool glass as Damon started to yell again; one of them needed to not be so hotheaded.

"This morning was _private_, Ads. It's not something you go spouting off to Katherine about!"

"Why not?" Addie asked monotonously, still not seeing the big deal.

Damon's voice dropped so he wasn't yelling in anger but it still rattled in frustration, "It's just not something she needs to know."

"What's the big deal of her knowing? Nothing happened!"

"Exactly!" Damon emphasized. "She doesn't need to know that we shared a bed and I didn't try anything!"

"I can't keep up with you," Addie muttered to herself.

Damon shook his head, "That's not me! I try something!"

"Well, I'm pretty sure you don't have a clone running around and that I was lying next to you this morning and you didn't try anything," Addie pointed out reasonably.

"I mean, that was me but it wasn't _me._ It you! It you, Ads! I'm telling you that you drive me ten types of crazy but it's probably more like a million," Damon groaned out as he realized just how much he was speeding.

Addie nodded slowly, "Good to know I repel you so much; it's probably in my best interest if I want to stay alive."

"You've got it all wrong," Damon informed her as he wound his fingers in the hair at the base of her head. Gently, he tugged and made her face him. "You don't repel me at all and that is so...there are so many things wrong with that because I know that deep down. you want nothing more than me out of your life," he gave her a sad, quick glance and loosened his hold on her hair, still playing with it.

Addie chewed on her lip, mulling over what Damon said, unsure of what to make of it. Then she remembered what started everything. She picked her phone up from where it lay discarded on the seat between her and Damon.

"Katherine wants to know what happened," she voiced hesitantly. "What do you want me to tell' her?"

Damon didn't answer right away. "Tell her the truth that never was," he said slowly. "Don't imagine I didn't think of making a move," he smirked mischievously. "We would have made out and then, when I went to take your shirt off, you would have slapped me with great indignation."

"I would not have kissed you," Addie muttered, typing her reply to Katherine.

"You did before. You would have this morning," Damon smirked arrogantly.

Addie rolled her eyes, "That was before you little makeout session with your ex that could have been back to all fireworks and, well, I forgot what else Katherine said. I think I was trying to hold back vomit at that point. Oh, and it was also before you tried to force my sister into a kiss."

Damon shrugged casually but looked a bit sheepish, "They make me lose all rational train of thought. I have a weakness for….."

"Women," Addie finished helpfully as Damon pulled into the parking lot of the concert venue, already filled with at least 20 cars.

"No," he mumbled, unbuckling his seat belt, "just them. Something about the face….."

_Or possibly the fact that you can't have either_, Addie thought to herself as she got out.

"Come on," she grinned up at a scowling Damon, he was glaring at the 40 or so girls and mothers sitting in blankets and chairs behind metal barricades. At the very front three tents were set up. "Cheer up," Addie smirked, interlocking her fingers with his and dragging him behind her. "I could have had you out here all night in a tent. Suck it up, Salvatore. I already let you get your diva sleep," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

Damon shook his head, "Save my life or not, you would not have me camping out for this."

Addie frowned and stuck her tongue out at him, "You are just so mean."

"Extremely," he snickered in agreement, pulling her down to the ground next to him. "Let's get this over with."

Addie scowled at him as he pulled a book out of his pocket. "No friggin' way," she commanded, taking the book by a corner, handling it as if it were as disgusting as a used condom.

"I was going to read that," Damon responded flatly, looking at the book.

Sitting on it, Addie grinned, "Now you're not. You forgot line companion in your list of reason of how you are useful to me."

"What, exactly, does that involve?" Damon grimaced. Addie smirked. "You're going to have me wishing for a fatal dose of vervain, aren't you?"

"No! I'm not that mean. However, these tickets did go on sale right after my parents died and Elena the Miraculous lived. Bo-"

"You seriously resent her for that, don't you?" Damon frowned, tilting his head.

Addie pursed her lips, "Yes. It all resulted from another one of her selfish choice. If we sit here and list everything I resent about my sister, we'll miss the show. And close your mouth; I don't want to hear it. You can't preach to me about sibling love when you and Stefan are all kinds of fucked up. So, as I was saying, Bonnie bought them for me in hopes f cheering me up. She went on and on about how it would be an all girls day and we would listen to all her music while we wait and gossip about boys and paint each others nails and eat our weight in chocolate. Don't get me wrong, I love Bonnie to death, but I think half the time she is trying to make Elena more like me and me more like Elena. I know she feels torn apart and like she'd in the middle when we fight, especially now that we are in school together again. It helps that she doesn't approve of Elena playing house with vampires, though. I suppose she'll hate me to if this plan works…."

Damon felt ill; it was going to be a long day. "She helped you save me though," he comforted Addie.

"Yeah, only because I'm not stupid enough to fall in love with a vampire. If you hurt someone, I'll have no problem with killing you. And today is my day so don't even make any snide remarks about how I couldn't possibly do it," Addie glared at him, poking his chest.

Damon grabbed her hand before she could pulled it too far back and spread her fingers open, letting his own fill the gaps in between. "You are very bossy for such a small thing," he grumbled, resting their hands on his knee, "but fine. Since I'm such a nice guy we will listen to Taylor Swift, I will feign interest as you prattle on about guys, I will have nothing to do with nail polish, but I will go out and buy you your weight in chocolate if that is seriously what you want."

Addie lifted her eyebrows in surprise, "You're going to have to excuse me if I end up fainting. My body might just go into shock if you're actually able to be nice for a whole day."

"Uh, you're the mean one. You start everything!" Damon defended.

Addie shrugged, not taking his bait. "Sometimes, sometimes not. We're both jerks. Though today, I'm channeling my inner Caroline and being a control freak. How is she, by the way?"

Damon took the earbud Addie offered him and shoved it in his ear. He grimaced, but not at the sound of Taylor Swift music. "Do you know what happened after the carnival? Like after you left my place?"

"I know Katherine turned her and told her to tell you that the game was on and I know that she killed a man. Now apparently Stefan is trying to teach her his way or something? You know, I really only get facts that are directly relevant to Elena or to her love life in her diary. It's actually kind of confusing trying to figure out what is happening in other people's lives via that thing," Addie cocked her head thoughtfully.

"I'm guessing that she didn't put in how your witchy friend almost roasted me alive because she blames me for Caroline turning," Damon said low enough that people around them wouldn't hear.

Addie shook her head "Nope."

Damon clutched at his heart, "Your pain and concern for me are so moving."

"Oh! Right! You poor thing," Addie pouted, sticking out her bottom lip and caressing his cheek. "Are you ok? Did the big bad witch hurt you?"

"Much better," Damon smirked.

"Big baby," Addie laughed, pinching his cheek lightly.

Damon looked around at the line the had grown at least five times in size, "Yes. I'm really just a 13-year-old boy trapped in the body of a 25-year-old." He shook his head and leaned towards Addie to mutter in her ear, "Seriously, Ads. I look like a pedophile here."

Addie tried to hide her fit of laughter under coughing. "When you look around all menacing and lecherous like that, you do," she choked out under fits of giggles.

"Not funny," Damon muttered rolling his eyes.

"You're over reacting, yet again, might I add. Don't look pervy but about 30 people back are some guys that are at least 24 and on a bad day, you barely look 22. Today you're pushing for a 21," Addie reasoned, biting her cheeks to keep from grinning.

Damon arched an eyebrow at her, "You mean that gay couple?"

Addie rolled her eyes, "So, you're my very metrosexual best friend. Honestly, Damon. Since when do you care what people think anyways?"

He shook his head, "I don't care. I'm just being observant and aware of my surroundings."

"Insecure," Addie coughed into her hand.

Damon's lips pressed into a thin line before he smirked. Swiftly, he picked Addie up and pulled her into his lap. He rested his chin on her shoulder and smiled in satisfaction at the blush and startled look on her face. His breath came out warm against her ear in the February air, "Very comfortable," he paused suggestively, "and very secure in who I am. Don't care what anyone thinks."

"Yeah," Addie snickered, leaning back against his chest, "you don't even take into consideration the feelings of those you force into your lap. You're like the Santa at the mall that picks up the kid and just assumes she wants to sit on his lap and get her picture taken."

"Are you protesting?" Damon grinned as he wrapped his arms around her. Addie didn't answer. "That's what I thought," he sniggered, the vibrations filtering through layers to Addie's back.

"Only because the ground is hard and was freezing my butt," Addie twisted around to look up at him sternly.

Damon shrugged,"Whatever you say. Your word is apparently law today.

"Just shut up and listen to the music," she muttered threateningly.

"But, Ads," Damon whined, "we're suppose to talk about boys!"

"I am _not_ discussing boys with you," she hissed, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Ooooooooo," Damon gushed in a falsetto. "What's his name?"

"Nu-uh."

"Come on," Damon pleaded, poking her in the side, making her squirm.

"No."

"Pretty please?" he asked sweetly. Though his smirk betrayed his voice as he poked her in the other side, making her squirm again.

"Stop that," Addie warned.

"Are you ticklish, Ads?" Damon inquired, grinning wickedly, having already figured out the answer.

The crack in her voice gave away her lie, "No."

"You little liar."

"Not lying," she responded coolly.

"Oh, alright then," Damon concede before mirthlessly wiggling his finger up and down each of her side.

Addie squirmed back and forth in his lap, biting her lip to prevent squeaks of laughter. "Stop!" she managed to choke out.

"Are you going to talk boys with me?"

Addie shook her head. Damon's fingers flew faster in response.

"Uncle!" Addie panted between tiny burst of laughter.

"Nooooooo," Damon sung. "Boys!"

Damon tickled her harder. When she made to get out of his lap, he crossed his arms over her and continued with the torture.

"Damon!" she pleaded, gasping for air.

Damon stopped tickling her and quickly put her in a position that wouldn't yield horribly embarrassing moments, hopefully. He was relieved she spoke up when she did as his jeans had become almost uncomfortably tight in sensitive area from all her wiggling around.

"Oh? His name is Damon?" he inquired innocently.

After catching her breath, Addie settled back against Damon's chest, only this time she pulled the open sides of his jacket over her.

"Yes. His name is Damon and I hate him."

Damon pouted, resting his chin on her head. "Well, that's not very nice."

"He's not very nice. In fact, I can describe him in ten word." Addie began counting them off on her fingers, "Mean, mean, mean, insane, mean, delusional, mean, obsessive, mean, and just plain crazy."

"Mmm," Damon hummed, "we must not know the same Damon. You cannot describe the Damon I know without mentioning his amazing sex appeal."

"Did I mention delusional?" Addie inserted casually.

Damon dropped his head and spoke quietly against her ear, "Do I need to go over the facts on how I know you find me attractive, at least physically?"

"There are none," she stated firmly.

"Yes," Damon nodded, brushing the hair off her neck and over her shoulder.

Addie shook her head and swallowed hard, loud enough for sensitive vampire ears to hear. "No. There are no signs, no facts, nothing. I don't - I don't find you attractive."

Damon pulled back, his lips hovering over a pulse point in Addie's neck. It's obvious fast and erratic beating were near proof enough. Realizing she wasn't trying to convince him but rather herself, he nodded slowly

"I know," he sighed as he rest his chin on her shoulder and held her to him tight.

Relaxing a little, she rested her temple against his, "Sorry," she mumbled, barely audible.

"Don't say that," Damon bit out sharper than he intended to. More gently he continued, "Don't apologize to me, Addison. You never ever have to explain yourself to me or tell me sorry or anything like that."

"What if I make a mistake?" she wondered aloud.

Damon laughed lightly, "There's always an 'oops!' for that."

"Ok," she agreed, humming along to the music that filled one of each of their ears.

* * *

**A/N: That is nearly 7500 words written on a tiny virtual keyboard because my computer broke! I may have serious problems with this chapter (though one of my favorite moments occur) but my dedication to getting this up for you guys at least deserve an A+., or a review, in my humble opinion. Do you think Addie and Damon can get along enough to make Katherine believe the plan is working? Will they completely blindside her and learn of her motives? Or will Katherine easily tell they're working together?**


	16. Chapter 19

Damon was focusing on Addie springing on her toes, shifting her weight from foot to foot slowly as it made the obnoxious sound of several thousand girls twittering and chattering in excitement slightly more bearable. He felt marginally smarter than a complete idiot for using his gift of speed and running just a little faster than any human could to grab a spot right in the center of stage at the barricade when he saw Addie's face glow with joy. With people already trying to push towards to the center and stealthily nudging their way in front of others, he has her stand in front of him with him close behind so he could hold the barricade and block her from people pushing at all sides.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom or something?" Damon laughed in her ear, having to speak louder than normal, competing with so many voices.

Addie turned her head to look at him confused. Her purple hair whipped over her shoulder, stray strands brushing his face. It smelt like cucumber melon; it had smelt like cucumber melon all day. He shouldn't be noticing stupid things like that. He hadn't given up hope on Elena and Addie had made her position very clear while they had waited earlier.

"Wha'?" she squinted. The question was bizarre; even for Damon.

He arched an eyebrow and nodded towards her feet, "You're bouncing around like a two-year-old who's working on potty training."

"You know," Addie declared, turning her nose up at him and facing the stage again, "I am not going to let you ruin this for me, Damon. Nope. Not tonight. I will go back to all the insanity and drama that is you _tomorrow._ Tonight, I shall bounce around, scream in joy, and sing along!"

Damon shook his head, even though she couldn't see him. "I don't really get it. You never striked me as someone who would be a Taylor Swift fan. Your more emotional sister on the other hand, that wouldn't be so surprising."

"Excuse me!" Addie gawked, turning in the small box his arms made in order to face him. "I am a 15-year-old freshman girl, wh-"

"You're 14," Damon interrupted. She gave him a lethal look. "Ok, you're _suppose_ to 15 during your freshman year if you're not some weirdo with a freaky birthdate," Damon quipped.

"Which means all I do is hope one of those senior boys winks at me. And you know what else it means? It means when someone tells me they love me, I'm gonna believe them. There is nothing in this world for me to figure out because I already understand all of it! It means that one day, when i don't have anymore you-know-whats to worry about, I'll go on my very first date and it will feel like I'm flying. I'll be so insanely happy that I'll be dancing around my room like an idiot when the night ends! All of this will have just been one fuzzy nightmare, meaning I'll get a redo on my first and it will be with someone who like _me_, not my sister, and it will make my head spin round. Also, there is nothing cooler I can do than date a boy on the football team. How can you _not_ see how this speaks to every single fiber of my being?!" Addie exaggerated, grasping at the openings of Damon's jackets and looking at him with wide, innocent eyes.

Damon's icy blue eyes narrowed as he looked into Addie and spoke with conviction, "Because you said half of that mockingly and you're not stupid enough to believe that the parts you said seriously are actually true."

Addie let go of his jacket and heaved a heavy sigh, "Elena could have convinced you. She got the acting skills while I got the brains."

Damon closed his eyes. He didn't want to fight about this now. "Ads-"

"I'm just being serious. Elena won Best Actress in the district in 8th grade. I won the district trivia challenge. I'm not trying to start anything. I was just," she shrugged, turning back to the stage, "sharing, I guess. Though I don't know why it's not like you particularly care."

"No, I think I do," Damon revealed, just loud enough for her to hear.

Addie crossed her arms against the barricade and leant heavily against them. "Why?" she speculated.

Damon ran his fingers through the back of her hair, his fingertips lingering where it end in the middle of the back. "Speaking candidly, you could probably come up with a more accurate answer than mine."

"Still didn't answer so how I would know," she muttered, unconsciously leaning back against his fingers.

"I don't know why. I just know that I don't really know anything about you but I want to," he confessed, running his fingers through her hair again.

Addie hummed in thought, "That could be problematic. You see, Damon, you already know more about me than I do you. I don't like that. You're an enigma of mysteries. In order for me to willingly share more about myself, you're going to have to open up to."

"I could always make you," Damon coaxed darkly against Addie's ear.

Addie took several hard, shallow breaths and fumed, "I keep hoping there is something halfway decent inside of you but every time I start to see something, you go and show that there isn't."

Damon's eyes dropped and he put a hand on Addie's waist, just about the sweatshirt she had tied around her. He squeezed gently and reassured her, "I would never do that to you, Ads. Never."

"You already have," Addie spat, pushing Damon's hand off her. "I don't even know what choices are actually _mine_ or which are just being compelled out of me."

"You're doing what you want most," Damon insisted.

Addie scowled, looking over her shoulder at him, "Really, Damon? Do I really want to work with Katherine and most likely end up dead or am I just that compelled to have control of my life that I think the only way I can be in any sort of control in this fucked up situation is to work with two completely insane vampires."

His grip on the barrier tightened to the point that it began to dent. "Mind your strength," Addie hissed sharply, slapping at his fist.

Inhaling sharply, Damon realized what he had done. "Ten types of crazy, Ads," he muttered tiredly, slackening his grip. "Why do keep bringing it up?"

"Uh, maybe because it's my free will?" she snapped back. "Why won't you undo it?"

Damon ground his teeth, "I'll take it off when you're not afraid of me."

"Yeah, that's gonna happen," Addie laughed, pulling her purple and black flannel off and wrapping it around her waist. The glowing stage lights were making her hot.

Damon was momentarily distracted by Addie's freshly revealed skin. Stepping closer he put his hands on her shoulder, feeling her stiffen. "I promise I will make it up to, I promise," he swore, his thumbs rubbing small circles on his back, the right tracing a scar. "Addison, I will prove to you that you can trust and I'm not as horrible as you believe."

"Not sure that is possible," Addie sniffed, shaking her head.

"Promise it is," he reassured her, dropping his left arm to around her stomach and pulling her in for a backwards hug.

"Ow," Addie winced. Gently she pushed Damon's arm further down her stomach but it was too late.

"What was that?" he asked suspiciously, peering over her shoulder.

Addie shook her head, trying to distract him, "Nothing. How exactly do you expect to get me to trust you?"

Damon ignored her, pulling her camisole out from under the sweatshirt and flannel tied around her waist. Addie swat at his hand, "Stop."

"No," Damon laughed, pulling the shirt up high enough to reveal her belly button piercing. "I knew it," he smirked.

"Good for you. Now, let go of my shirt," Addie blushed scarlet, batting at Damon's hands.

Damon shook his head and grinned, "Stop that! I wanna see!"

Addien rolled her eyes and uttered, "You just want any excuse to get under a girl's shirt."

He turned her and squatted to get a better look. "Hot," Damon smirked. "Love the moon and stars. And for the record, I don't need excuses," Damon countered.

"Wipe that smug look off your face," Addie snapped. Damon's smirk grew. Addie glowered at him threateningly, "You know, I _could_ say something to bruise that oversized ego of yours but I much rather enjoy my concert than deal with you pouting and brood."

"I do not pout or brood," Damon stiffly answered. "The one with the hero hair has claims on that."

"You both do," Addie muttered, stuffing her cami back under the hoodie and flannel tied around her as she turned and faced the stage.

* * *

Damon was grateful they made it through the two opening acts with minimal pushing and shoving but he was already pushed nearly flush against Addie and they hadn't even suffered the worst fight towards the stage yet. Peering over her shoulder, he saw that there was only about an inch between her and the barricade.

"How much longer is this going to last?" he pestered, focusing on the scar over her right scapula that he had been rubbing over earlier, in order to drown out the sound of thousands of screaming fans.

Addie shrugged, the scar rising and falling with the movement. She pulled her hair up, holding it off her neck, but a few wisps still clung to the glistening skin. Even Damon, who was typically immune to temperature felt a little warm.

"Do you have a hair tie?" he asked. He refused to acknowledge that the warmth he felt had anything to do with his close proximity to Addie.

She shook her head in frustration, "No. I always wear one. Always. This morning I was so focused on being quiet that I completely forgot to grab one."

Damon took a hand off the rail and held it out in front of her, "Give me your headphones." When she hesitated, he added, "Just trust me. I'm not going to break them or anything,"

Reluctantly Addie fished the earbuds from her pocket and handed it to him. She grew wary as he took them out of her sight.

"Let go of your hair," he muttered, as if deep in concentration.

She did, she slight relief of cooler air on her neck gone. Soon she felt damn twisting and fiddling with her hair and it was off her neck again.

"There," he grinned satisfactorily to himself, placing his hands back on the rails.

Addie patted lightly at her hair; it felt like it was all rolled up to the base of her skull. "Uh, what did you do."

"Don't touch," Damon warned. "I didn't do it tightly because I didn't want to break your headphones."

"Ok," Addie slowly answered, "but what did you do?"

"Just a trick my mom use to do. She had really long, dark hair and she'd always complain in the summer how she wished she could chop it all off. My father would always threaten to shave his head bald if she did that; she loved his hair. So, she always wore this red ribbon tied around her wrist and when she would get hot, she'd use it to wrap up her hair," Damon reminisced softly.

Addie turned her head over her shoulder and looked up at him; his bowed head left only inches between their lips. "I've never heard you talk about your parents," she whispered tenderly.

Damn stiffened, returning to his guarded self, "You're the one who wants me to share."

She turned back towards the stage before Damon could see her flush. "I do," she affirmed, placing her hands over his on the barricade and squeezing gently.

The stage lights went down and thousands of screaming fans rushed towards the stage, sending a distracted Damon flush against Addie's back. Vaguely he was aware of her cheering and chant the starlet's name with everyone else. Mentally he repeatedly slapped himself. How could he have been so _stupid_? To speak to her about _his parents_? That was a definite taboo. She did not need to know about the areas of his past that were still close to him, things that made him vulnerable. Why hadn't he just given some mysterious or vague answer like he had helped many damsels in distressing heat before?

He stared at the scar though what had to be most of the songs, doing his best not to focus on the way the crowd kept pushing him up against Addie. The smell of cucumber melon kept filling his nose but he was so close that the sweet lingering scent of either her body wash or lotion was also detectable: watermelon with hints of blackberry that kept it from smelling sickly sweet. He tried to widen his grip on the barricade as his upper arms had become so closely pressed so her that they brushed the sides of her breast in a most distracting way, even through the leather of his jacket. When Addie stiffened against him, her hands slightly tightening over his, he became much more aware of his surroundings, worried for her safety given her nervous reaction.

Damon notice Taylor Swift had stopped to talked to the crowd but his eyes were flashing around for danger. Up and down the barricade there were bouncers but none of them _seemed_ suspicious. He tried looking through the elaborate platforms from a lurking figure. The only people he could spy off the wings of the stage were busy stagehands and production managers and photographers, none of whom looked like they might be up to any trouble.

Unsatisfied that he couldn't find anything he bent to Addie's ear and whispered loud enough for her to hear over the crowd and the singer still talking, "What's wrong?"

Addie barely shook her head mutely, her deep blue eyes wide and fearful. Damon was quickly on full alert, taking in every sense and observing everyone when he saw that look. His eyes were first trained on Taylor Swift as she began strumming an acoustic opening to a song. They darted to the guitarist that added in a bit of electric reverb next; he was fishy looking but not dangerous, per se. He scanned the pianist that accompanied the other instruments; his eyes were focused down. Were they just focused on the keys or something more?

"Pianist?" he hissed in Addie's ear.

She looked at him confused for a moment. "No one, you paranoid nutcase."

"Well then enlighten me as to why you are nervous and look like you've just seen a ghost?" Damon snapped, annoyed that he had apparently wasted his energy on nothing.

Addie's voice came out as a squeak, "I'm fine."

"That's convincing," Damon muttered sarcastically.

"Will you just shut up? This one of my favorite songs and you're yapping is ruining!" Addie snapped.

Damon rolled his eyes and made to focus on the scar for distraction again before deciding that he was kind of interested to know what could possibly one of Addie's favorite songs. He listened to the music, resting his chin on her shoulder. She seemed taller tonight for some reason. There talking had made them miss the very beginning of the song.

"_There's a fire inside of you_

_That can't help but shine through._

_She's never gonna see the light_

_No matter what you do._

_And all I think about is how to make you think of me_

_And everything that we could be_

_I just wanna show you_

_She don't even know you,_

_She's never gonna love you like I want to._

_And you just see right through me._

_If you only knew me_

_We could be a beautiful_

_Miracle,_

_Unbelievable_

_Instead of just invisible._

_Like shadows in a faded light_

_Oh, we're invisible._

_I just wanna open your eyes_

_And make you realize."_

Damon blatantly stared at Addie, who was too caught up in singing the rest of the song to realize. He found that to be a very odd choice for one of her favorite songs. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Taylor Swift point the microphone out to the audience. Addie sand louder and harder just like everyone else but Damon also felt her grip on his hands just marginally tighten. Taking his head off her shoulder her, his eyes narrowed as he began tracing the same scar he had all night in distraction.

Was what he thinking even a possibility? He knew she was strongly against the idea of him pursuing her sister but…. It would be a lie to say Elena understood him better and knew more about him. Things he had never said to anyone just slipped out around Addie. But Elena saw a good inside of him that Addie didn't. Question was if he saw that good and wanted it to be seen; with good come expectation. Addie expected him to fight and be an asshole and then laugh about it but that wasn't right either.

Addie furrowed her brows, slightly concerned as she pushed at Damon's chest for the third time, calling his name louder.

"What?" he spurt out in surprise, looking at her as if he had completely forgotten she was there.

Addie raised her eyebrows and smiled at him suggestively, "Fantasizing amazing daydreams?"

"What? No!" Damon answered in surprise. "I was just thinking. And I don't need daydreams," he hinted, whispering in Addie's ear.

"Didn't need to know that, Salvatore," she muttered, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the crowd of people that were pouring out the exits. "Don't go thinking too hard; you'll give yourself a headache. That muscle isn't use to being used."

"Too late for that," he grunted under his breath.

Addie wound her arm around his, just like she would with Jeremy or Bonnie, "What's wrong, Damon?"

He shook his head dismissively.

Addie nodded firmly, "Uh-huh. Something's bothering you. We've put apart our differences long enough to talk about my problems, when it's really mattered. I'm pretty sure we can do the same for you problems."

"Ok," Damon resolved, as they finally made it out the exit. "It's been bothering me all night. How did you get this scar?" he asked seriously, tracing the mark for the several hundredth time.

Addie scowled at his deflection, wrapping her arms around her in the cold night air. It was too short of a walk to the car to put her flannel and sweatshirt back on. "Chicken pox when I was six. When you tell a six- year-old they're going to have scars if they scratch, they tend not to care and just want the itching to stop. I have a handful more. Jeremy hardly has any scars because he practically lived in the oatmeal baths playing with his pirate ships. Elena has a lot because it was when she was starting her diva phase. She wouldn't take the oatmeal bath that helps because she was too old for baths and she wouldn't use the calamine lotion to relieve the itching because it was pink."

Addie felt Damon's jacket fall around her shoulders and turned to protest but he cut her off first. "I don't need it, remember? Isn't pink Elena's favorite color?"

"Thanks," she answered quietly, ducking her head as they heated slightly. "It is not but that week her favorite color was probably glitter. I know it's not a color but from ages 8 to 11 my sister insisted it was and she covered everything in it. For my 7th birthday she made me a huge poster size card and it was covered in purple and green glitter. I had it hanging in my room for a year. I still find pieces of glitter now and then. I can't even tell you how many times I've had my carpet cleaned. I've given up and decided the little pieces are little parts of my sister's soul that haven't died so finding on is like a little miracle," Addie told Damon, putting extra perk into the last sentence.

Damon stopped walking, making Addie turn back and look at him.

"What?" she asked at the puzzled look on his face.

He reached around her and pulled the headphones out of her hair, making it cascade down her back. He handed the earbuds back to her, grabbed her hand and continued walking to the car. Skeptically, he inquired, "You two didn't always want to tear each other's throat out?"

Addie nodded slowly, "Hard to believe but we did get along as well as two completely different sisters could until Elena was about 12 or 13. I don't think I could stand how girly she was and how she tried to force it on me and she probably couldn't handle that I could match her quip for quip. Everything kind of became a contest between us and it's never stopped. I usually try and avoid big things that are going to make us fight or be competitive; like if Elena runs for Miss Mystic Falls, I don't, unless my mother forces me into it and Carol Lockwood won't let me out of it even if my mother is dead. Or like our friendship with Bonnie; I try and make sure Elena and I get equal amounts of alone time with her."

"Or, say, you wouldn't go after a guy if Elena wanted him too." Damon suggested, unlocking the passenger door, "even if he wanted you."

"That wouldn't happen. All the guys want Elena. Besides, we'd never be interested in the same type of guy," Addie answered certainly.

"I don't know," Damon disagreed, clicking his tongue. "I could see you both liking the same guy for different reasons."

Addie shrugged, grabbing at Damon's jacket as it began to slip, "I suppose it's possible. I mean, if I _really_ thought I could make it work with him and that my sister wasn't really interested in him or only was for the wrong reasons, I guess I would. I don't know, though. I wouldn't want to hurt her." She shook her head and reached for the door handle, despite the fact that Damon was leaning against the door, "I don't like playing what-if games. They just-"

Damon grabbed her wrist, cutting her off. Using his vampire speed, he had her pinned against the car before she could blink. The fingers that were around her wrist were now tightly interlocked with hers, the back of her wrist gently pushed against where the doorframe met the roof. His other fingers were twisted in her hair while his thumb traced back and forth against her jawline. Using the fingers in her hair to brace her head, he pulled her into a bruising kiss before she could even react to the change of position.

Addie stood frozen under Damon for a long moment. Gently he squeezed their fingers and started to pull when Addie's senses came back to her. Sliding her eyes closed, she stood on her toes to push her lips before Damon could retreat too far. She felt him smile as he bent his head back down so she wasn't on her toes. She wrenched the hem of his t-shirt, trying to pull him closer as he kissed her hard and fast.

Eventually, Addie squeezed at Damon's fingers and pushed at his lowering. He groaned softly at the brush of her skin just above his boxers and at the idea of ending the kiss. Giving her a light peck, he retreated, resting his forehead against hers. He felt a flush of satisfaction at the way her chest heaved and fell as she took in deep drags of air.

"What's wrong?" he murmured, dropping her hand and tracing her collarbone.

She blushed, trying to look down at his hand, "Human lung capacity. And what was that?"

Damon's eyebrows knitted together as he continued to run his fingers through her hair and over the bones around her neck. It was several minutes before he answered.

"I need you to hear me when I say this, Addison," he said slowly, cupping her face with both hands and tilting it so he could look into her cerulean eyes.

"Nobody calls me that," Addie muttered, breaking eye contact and trying to sound annoyed. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear his answer, anymore.

"Look at me, Addison," Damon coaxed, brushing hair out of her eye and tucking it behind her ear. When she finally did he spoke with conviction and gentleness. "Ads, you are anything but invisible to me. You know you drive me ten types of crazy. One type is a blinding light in a place that has only ever known darkness; I don't know where it leads but only you can take me there and I really want to see is there. There has to be a reason to us. I mean to how out of control and just simply crazy you make me feel. Being around you, it's like something comes over me and words I would never say spill out my mouth. Like right now! When I'm not around you, all I can think about is you. When I actually am around you, all I can think about is kissing you."

Addie could see the hurt in Damon's eyes and feel the pain of rejection in his fingers as she began to shake her head. "No, Damon," she pleaded with him, gentling tugging at his wrist."

"Yes, Ads," he whispered back, He frowned as she continued shaking her head, "Why, no?"

"You know," Addie sniffed, pushing at Damon's chest.

"No," he stiffened, feeling a twinge of guilt even as he did. "No Elena. Just you. You have to believe me, Addison. I'm so sorry if I made you feel invisible before because I was so infatuated with your sister. But, Ads, I swear that you are the only girl I want. I want to = God, I can't believe I'm going to say this. Repeat this to anyone and I will deny it. I want to court you. I want to date you. I want the full experience with you."

Addie laughed, dropping her hands from his wrist, "No one would ever believe me I told them. Honestly, I'm hearing it and I don't know if I believe it or not. You want to _court_ me? Damon Salvatore?"

"Believe me," he murmured against her lips before giving her a soft kiss. "Trust me." Another short, soft kiss. "One honest chance," he whispered before giving her a slow, long kiss.

Pulling his hands from her face she looked at him hard, "If I say I'll give you a chance can we get in the car? I'm kind of starting to freeze."

"Shit," Damon swore under his breath. "I'm so sorry. I forgot about the weather?"

"So, can we get in the car?" Addie laughed, noticing her hadn't moved.

Damon dropped his hands from his face to her waist and backed them a few steps up so they weren't leaning on the car. "Give me an honest chance, Ads. I promise you won't regret it."

Addie threw her head back in exasperation and groaned, "Fine!"

Addie slid in the car as Damon held the door open for her. She couldn't help but shake her head at her stupidity as she watched him get in. He turned on the car and instantly quickly turned on the heat.

Smirking he slid across the seat and closer to Addie, draping an arm under his jacket and around the bare skin of her shoulders, "You know, were going to be sitting in the line of cars to get out of here for like an hour."

"Damon," Addie warned.

"I can think of far more interesting and productive ways for us to pass the time," Damon hinted, pushing her hair behind her and letting his lips skim over the side of her neck. He felt a sting of satisfaction at the goose bumps he felt rise all over every bit of skin he was touching.

"Don't make me already regret this, Salvatore," she ground out.

Damon grinned at her innocently, "I was thinking twenty questions. What's so awful about that?"'

"Oh?" Addie quipped with raised eyebrows. "You sure you weren't thinking more along the lines of something like this?" she asked softly, as she cupped his cheek and lightly, quickly kissed him.

"You kissed me," Damon beamed.

Addie looked at him confused, "And outside,"

"No," Damon insisted. "You kissed me. You initiated a kiss, not the other way around. That was the first time."

Addie blushed and pushed Damon back but he still sat close enough to keep his arm around her. "I think I'm regretting this already."

"Nah," Damon grinned, pecking her cheek.

"Where you told fairytales when you were a kid?" Addie inquired.

Damon looked at her perplexed, "Yeah. Do you know you ask the most random of questions?"

"Hey! You're the one who _claimed _that he was suggesting we play twenty question," Addie scolded.

"Yeahhhhh, I liked your suggestion better," Damon grinned.

Addie scoffed, "Plenty of time for that later."

"Plenty of time now," Damon whined.

"Pouting won't get you your way. I don't know how this whole courting, dating, whatever-thing you're playing at works here and you're Mr. Mysterious so I'm making up my own rules right not. Rule number one: make it clear to you that you cannot kiss me whenever you want. Rule number two: twenty questions sounds safe."

Damon slumped down into his seat until he was able to lean his head on Addie's shoulder. "I'm not playing at anything. I always liked Hansel and Gretel; I enjoyed the idea of a house made of candy. Every Christmas I make a gingerbread house and load it up with icing and candy. You do realize you cannot repeat any of what I tell you, right?"

"Don't worry; that's too sappy and adorable for anyone to believe," Addie grinned, bringing her hand up to play with Damon's hair.

Damon chuckled, "Do you believe it?"

"Mm-hmm. You're much deeper than you like people to 're more than a self serving dick. At least, I'm giving you this one chance to prove that you are."

"Risky move," Damon tsked.

Addie purse her lips, unimpressed with his sense of humor. "You promised me I wouldn't regret it."

Damon grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers. He lifted the back of her hand to his lips and brushed it with a kiss. "You won't."

"You're not going to be a sap all the time now, are you?"

Damon laughed, "Ok, you will regret it if you expect me to be."

Addie shook her head, "I'd be disappointed if you were. Watching you get all cranky is too much fun."

"I do not get cranky," Damon pouted. "What is the best present you ever received?"

"No fai! That one is too hard!" Addie exclaimed,

Damon smiled, "You must be very blessed then."

"I am," Addie nodded slowly in agreement, "I think the best gift I was ever given was when I turned 13. Things were really rough at home that time. just a few months before our parents started to fight in front of us kids. That was really hard when you thought you saw the perfect marriage for almost 13 years. My depression was really bad and Jeremy was constantly hovering over me like I was going to hurt myself. Elena, well, she was pretty envious of me because I got to cover the sports section for the middle school paper and she never got to work on the paper in middle school. So, it's not hard to imagine how tense things were around the house. All I wanted was one day to be completely and utterly left alone; a full 24 hours without contact with another living person. If it was my brother or sister, I don't think they would have trusted them, but I was such a loner geek that it wasn't such a crazy idea to trust me in a hotel room for one night. They set me up at the nicest hotel in Charlottesville for the afternoon through the following afternoon using late check-out. They gave me permission to get whatever I wanted from room service; which were the only people I dealt with the whole time. Pretty lame party but I loved it. It was great just playing video games and watching the skyline and movies. My mom had hidden my gift in the bottom of my backpack so I was very confused for a while as to where as ringing was coming from for a solid five minutes when I found a cellphone in the bottom of the was a sticky note on it to just answer and end the call when I found it so my solitude wouldn't be disturbed. I think I was more excited about looking for and finding the phone than I was about getting it."

"You're talking to the King of Solitude it sounds like an awesome way to spend a birthday to me. I was really cool of your parents to do that for you. Things must have been really bad at home," Damon sympathized, tracing patterns on Addie's palm and playing with her fingers.

"If i'm not telling your secrets, you're not telling mine right?" she clarified.

Damon nodded, "Your secrets are safe with me."

Addie went on hesitantly, " Thing were so bad that my parents were getting a divorce at the end of the school year. I was moving into a condo with Dad, Elena would be staying with my mom and Jeremy would bounce back and forth. Elena just couldn't accept that. She wanted them together. Shew a fit that night on Wickery Bridge saying she needed both of them to come get her. I was already mad at her for going to the party;l this was going to be the last family game night before Dad and I moved out. Most of our stuff was already packed and the place was furnished, waiting for us. I begged her not to go; to stay for one last family night but, sometimes I just really question my sister's priorities." Addie flushed, "I'm monopolizing the conversation. Let's hear something about you."

"What about?" Damon responded openly.

"Stefan or Katherine."

"That's heavy stuff to jump right into," he muttered darkly.

Addie backtracked, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Damon squeezed her hand gently in comfort, "I do want to tell you. It's more more a matter of what. A lot of it, I'm not ready to talk about or you already know." He was silent for a few minutes as he thought of what to say, "I don't hate Stefan and want to make his life miserable because he essentially forced me to complete the transition. I hate him for the same reason I hate Katherine; she was only suppose to turn me. It was suppose to finally be just her and me and no more of that stupid love triangle. Of course, Katherine didn't want the game to end, of both of us fighting for her affection. With the only the being that there were no rules, I didn't some things I'm not proud of to try and win her love. Which was stupid because in the end it was always Stefan who she loved, which I don't understand since she had to compel his love. But I'm over her; I just hate her for what she did."

"While we're on the topic," Addie started cautiously, " what am I supposed to tell Katherine happened today? She's already mentioned wanting to know. And I don't exactly know what's private and what's not."

Damon shrugged, then shook his head and was silent for a long moment. "Tell her I pushed you up against the car and we kissed. I mean, it's true. You can tell her I stared at you all night and found every excuse I could to touch you. Again, pretty much the truth. Tell her how pissy I was all day for being dragged here."

"Was it that bad?" Addie asked feeling a little guilty.

"No. It even got you to give me a chance."

Addie shook her head, "Just shut up and drive. The lines mostly cleared out by now."

Damon moved back over to the driver's seat and put the car into drive and began to head out the parking. Addie grimaced as her phone chimed for a solid minute and a half when she turned it back on.

"What is that?" Damon muttered, his voice tinged with annoyance.

Addie pursed her lips as she sent a text to Elena telling her that she was with Damon and that they would be at the boarding house within an hour or two.

"Apparently everyone has a major freak out if I don't show up to school and I'm not home by 11," Addie smirked.

Damon laughed, "Guess that's why Stefan called me a couple of times tonight. They probably all thought I kidnapped you."

"Yeah, that's what Elena is accusing you of doing," Addie confirmed, as she read the new message from her sister. "I'll have to set her straight. You're much to noble to ever do such a thing. Oh, wait, didn't you drag me down to Georgia one time where there was some crazy vampire?"

"I took you on a road trip," Damon corrected.

Addie shook her head, "Kidnapped." After a moment Addie added, "You can;t act any differently towards me yet, you know that, right? I told Katherine I didn't want Elena to find out until I had you smitten enough to not have you running back to to her the first second she shows interest, because she will if she knows you're into me."

"Ok," Damon agreed. "Are you worried about that?"

"Honestly, yeah," Addie mutter, running her fingers through her hair.

"It's not going to happen," Damon reassured he, a nagging feeling of guilt inside him.

* * *

**A/N: And now we move back into progression of the season with the next chapter. Thank you guys for all your feedback and follow and comments and sticking with the story to this point! It means a lot to me =)**


	17. Chapter 20

"Tell me again why I'm coming with you to see _your_ boyfriend," Addie snapped at Elena, getting out of the car at the Salvatore boarding house.

Elena glared at her sister, not just about as happy as Addie was that she was tagging along. "For some reason Stefan asked me to bring you."

"And you didn't think to ask why?" Addie taunted, fed up with how her sister had been treating her ever since Katherine's little makeover a week ago.

"No," Elena snapped, turned to looked at her sister in annoyance, "and you want to know why? Because I don't trust you in the house without supervision. You've been running off and doing stupid, dangerous things and I don't know if the next thing you decide to run off and do is going to actually end up getting you hurt. Jenna is working on her thesis all day and Lord knows you won't listen to Jeremy."

Addie looked at Elena with fake sympathy, "Oh, you poor thing. You must finally realize how I feel every time _you _go running off with vampires. And you're delusional if you think I'll actually take orders from you."

"Stefan is safe. You took off with Damon the psychopath who snapped our brother's neck," Elena explained slowly before marching towards the house, Addie quick to follow. "I don't expect you to listen to me but I've given Stefan permission to use force to keep you from acting like an idiot, if need be."

"That's low, Elena, even for you," Addie spat. She watched her sister open the door and just walk inside. "I suppose you've lost the concept of manners and knocking," she muttered, closing the door behind her.

"Stefan?" Elena called out.

Addie saw the vampire stick his head out of the grand living room and wave his hand for them to come closer. Groaning, she followed her sister. What the hell was she thinking when she agreed to go to the boarding house? It wasn't like she could just walk right up to Damon and hug him. Besides, she had just seen him Wednesday morning when he compelled the school administrative staff to ignore her hair and piercings plus they talked on the phone for at least a few minutes every night. Wasn't that enough? Or did he expect them to be attached at the hip like Elena and Stefan? Addie really didn't think she could handle that much of Damon without trying to strangle him.

Stefan gave Elena a quick hug and a kiss before turning to her. "Hey, Addie. It's good to see you. Please, have a seat."

"Pretty sure we pass each other in the halls at least once a day at school," Addie scowled under her breath, taking a seat in an overstuffed love seat while Stefan sat next to Elena on the couch.

"Addison May!" Elena snapped.

Addie crossed her arms glaring at her sister, "Don't except me me to be all chipper and happy-go-lucky that you dragged me here to have Stefan babysit me."

Stefan interjected, seeing Elena about to give a smart retort, "Actually, it was Damon who requested you be here. I just passed along the message through Elena."

"You didn't tell me _Damon_ had anything to do with this. I think he's been enough of a bad influence for one week," Elena chided at Stefan haughtily.

Stefan shook his head, "I knew you wouldn't bring her and we kind of really need her help. Damon has a new obsession that he's too focused on to be a bad influence on anyone."

"Did I hear my name being spoken in anger?" Damon grinned, entering the living room through the kitchen.

"Why do you want my sister her?" Elena demanded.

Damon shook his head, a knowing smirk playing at his lips, "All will be revealed in good time. We're just waiting on one more member of the Scooby-doo gang."

"Scooby-doo gang? As in hunting down clues and mystery solving? Nu-uh. I'm out of here," Addie grimaced, standing up.

"Ric's pulling up now. Just hear me out before you go storming off in an indignant rage. We need your skills for finding, organizing and categorizing references using five different systems in record times," Damon chattered loud enough for them to hear as he made for the door.

Elena looked at her sister with narrow eyes, "How does he know about your State UIL Referencing win from last year?"

Addie shook her head, her face blank, "He's an insane vampire. Do you know how much you can find out about someone by just googling their name? Probably wants to know as many details as possibles so he can taunt me with then as he drain the life out of me."

"You are disturbingly morbid," Elena muttered.

Stefan sighed, "He's not going to kill you."

"He killed my brother," Addie argued.

"Katherine made him snap. And besides, he saw the ring," Stefan said gently, defending his brother but knowing it was a delicate topic.

Addie shook her head, "He didn't see the ring. And the next person who just happens to be standing too close when Katherine makes him snap? I'd rather that not be me."

"You're the one who went missing for a whole day with him," Elena said exasperated.

Addie raised her eyebrows at her sister and sneered, "Like you said, I've been doing stupid things."

The conversation was cut off by the sound of Alaric and Damon heading towards the room.

"Thanks for coming, Ric. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?" Damon offered, Alaric following him into the room.

Alaric ignored the offered and sat on the orange paisley couch across from Elena and Stefan. Getting straight to business he said, "Elena mentioned you needed my help."

"So, I'm not the only one you drag into your stupid plans blindly?" Addie sneered at Damon.

"No," Damon mocked, dropping next to her on the loveseat. Addie did her best not to react when she felt the weight of his hand on the small of her back. It was a persistent pressure, not hard enough to hurt but reassuring her that he was there. The slight warmth it gave of suggested he had ingested some caffeine, most likely coffee.

Stefan rolled his bright green eyes and ignored the two. If they stopped for every little snide remark Addie and Damon or Elena and Addie would throw at each other, nothing would ever get done. He waited for Damon to answer Alaric since it was his idea but his brother's mind was clearly elsewhere as he looked vacantly at a decided to break the growing, awkward silence, "Yeah, we were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family."

"Now, why would I know anything about the Lockwood's?" Alaric commented

Damon raised his eyebrows as if the answer was obvious, "Well, you wouldn't." Slower and with a hint of a smirk he added, "But your dead-not-dead vampire wife might.

At Alaric's puzzled faced Elena clarified, "Isobel's research from when you guys were at Duke together."

Addie felt a pit in her stomach begin to form. Isobel was one scary vampire; she really hoped this wasn't heading where she thought it was. She still had no idea what they were talking about but research and information….

"You said that she had spent years researching this town?"

Alaric nodded, "Isobel's research here in Mystic Falls is rooted in folklores and legends. At the time, I thought most of which was fiction.

"Like that amazing vampire story," Damon grinned, his face lighting up like a kid's on Christmas morning.

Addie scoffed, looking at him, "Must you always be an ass?"

"My ass happens to be one of my greatest assets," he smirked.

Addie shook her head in disagreement, "Not when infused with your obnoxious personality."

Elena shot them a scolding look, "Can you guys stop for two minutes?" Looking back at Alaric her tone was back to innocent and sweet, "Aside from vampires, what else?"

Alaric shrugged, "The lycanthrope."

"Wait, like werewolves?" Elena questioned, surprised by his response.

Addie shot up and was halfway across the room was Damon suddenly appeared in front of her, "Where do you think you're going?"

Shaking her head she pushed all ten fingers through her hair, "No, no way. Vampires, witches, and now werewolves? I want this supernatural crap out of my life; I don't want to go digging to find out more about it."

"It's impossible for there to be any werewolves, way too Lon Chaney," Damon reassured her.

"Is it?" Stefan asked skeptically.

Addie cocked her head and tried to step around Damon but he continually kept blocking her way, "Well, the Scooby-doo gang is going to have to settle with just having Daphne on the case for this one because Velma is out." Addie slipped pass Damon and out the front door.

* * *

Addie decided to follow the seven mile path of the road home, figuring she could use the time to clear her head. She was grateful to never see Elena's car it meant she wouldn't have to deal with her when she got home.

She was supposed to be working on getting rid of the vampires in this town and know she had to worry about werewolves too? She didn't even know who all of them where, or any, in fact! And in regards to vampires, if she was trying to get all of them out of Mystic Falls, where did that leave Caroline? Caroline was her friend, even if she was annoying. She had been an innocent victim of Katherine but she had also killed an innocent man.

With her head feeling thick and fuzzy, she took off running the last four miles home, grateful she always wore her trusty Converse. She stumbled through the door, gasping for air; she had sprinted the last stretch. She gave Jeremy a wave as he turned from his video game to look at her in concern.

"Are you ok? I thought you were with Elena? Did something happen?" Jeremy rushed out, walking over to his baby sister, who had her hands on her knees and looked like she was fight to breathe."Are you having an asthma attack?!"

Straightening up slightly he saw a smile on her face as she swallowed big gulps of air, "You're the one with asthma. Worried I was off being a delinquent?"

"Kind of," Jeremy said harshly, now that he was certain she was ok. He followed her into the kitchen where she pulled a bottle of water from the fridge.

"You're worried about the wrong sister," she muttered, before downing half the bottle. "I was with Elena. She took me over to the Salvatore boarding house, if that wasn't enough to make me want to leave, they started talking about looking for research and information on the Lockwoods and werewolves. So, I left."

Jeremy raised an eyebrow at her. How was it fair that he had the skill to control a single eyebrow when she couldn't? "You just up and left? No problems?"

"Pretty much," Addie nodded. "I'm gonna go shower. Wanna kick some ass online when I'm done?" she grinned pointing to the controller Jeremy left on the coffee table.

"Definitely," he grinned.

Addie took a quick shower, eager to get back downstairs and hang out with her big brother. After hanging the towel she used to absorb most of the water from her hair on a hanger stuck to the back of the door, she slipped back into her room for clothes. It was only seven o'clock but she highly doubted she was leaving the house that night, making pajamas a perfectly acceptable choice in her opinion. Turning to her dresser she began digging through drawers for what she needed.

"Personally, I think you would be more comfortable in the most revealing thing you own," came a lazy, arrogant voice from behind her.

Jumping she turned around and saw Damon laying on her bed, smirking from a pillow propped up by his arms. He sat up as she self consciously adjusted the towel around her.

"Are you spying on me?" she accused angrily.

Damon shook his head, "No, spying would have meant not saying anything until after you changed, which definitely crossed my mind."

Addie grabbed the closest book from the single she that wrapped around her room and chucked it at his head, "You pig!"

"I wasn't ever actually going to do it," Damon laughed, catching the book with ease.

"Get out," Addie snapped, pointing to the door.

The laughter and playfulness left Damon's face and his voice was serious, "I need to talk to you."

"Now?" Addie gawked at him.

Rubbing the back of his neck anxiously he answered, "Yeah, kind of."

"I'm in a towel!" gaping at him Addie stressed.

Damon cocked his head at her and a half smirk played at his lips, "I saw more of you when you wore that dress of Elena's."

Addie flushed, focusing on the floor she scoffed, "Don't remind me of that thing."

"Why not? I quite enjoyed the view," Damon grinned, getting up and bending down to quickly brush his lips against hers. "Now to rectify this towel situation," he announced, turning to her open dresser drawer.

"Damon!" Addie cried out but it was too late; he was already digging through the drawer. She tried to get around him and push him out of the way but it was no use. He was even standing in a way that she couldn't see what he was doing."

"No," he said dismissively. "Oh! I like these...but not tonight," he finished dejectedly. "Hott. Hott. Ooo, hott and in my favorite color. My lord! I'm afraid I'm going to have to confiscate these; they are far too naughty for my Ads," Damon grinned, slipping a pair into his pocket quickly.

Addie could feel her whole body turning scarlet. "Damon Salvatore! You put those back right now!" she demanded, stomping her foot for effect.

Damon flashed her one of his more seductive smiles. He hadn't tried one on her yet and was curious to how she would react; she'd always through him a curveball when he was least expecting it. "Or else what, Addison?"

"Or else I'll grab them from your pocket myself," she snapped.

"Think about that, Do you really think you putting you hand down my pants pocket is more of an incentive for me to keep them where they are or to put them back?" Damon smirked, making a big show of shove her panties further into his pocket.

Turning away from him she muttered, "You are the biggest ass on earth."

"You can't possibly know that; you haven't met everyone on earth. Relax, Ads, I'm putting them back. I was always going to put them back."

She opened her mouth to say something when she heard him shut the drawer and open another one. That one closed after a minute.

"There!" Damon proclaimed in satisfaction, looking at the article of clothes he had piled atop her dresser.

Looking at him warily, Addie went over to inspect the clothes. Damon had to give a running commentary as she assessed each one.

"Boyshorts, obviously because they're hott and blue because they match the gym shorts. The gym shorts are pretty faded and the school emblem is coming off, you've obviously made good use of them long after their intended purpose so I'm guessing you're pretty comfortable in them. Oh and obviously because they're kinda short. And the red camisole because I like red on you. Did I do ok?" Damon asked hesitantly.

"You're missing a bra," Addie stated.

Damon corrected her, "The shirt has one built in."

Addie raised her eyebrows at him and gave him a knowing look, "You're just as aware as I am that the flimsy little band of elastic does practically nothing."

"Damn, was hoping you were one of those girls who actually believed they did. Still, I'm not missing anything. You can't tell me you sleep in a torture device that is a bra," Damon smirked.

Addie shifted her weight, not liking to admit defeat. "No but you're here and I was going to go downstairs and play video games with Jeremy."

Damon's face grew serious again, "We - I _really_ need to talk and it may be awhile."

"Ok," Addie said slowly, feeling slightly concerned. She went back into the bathroom and changed and brushed her teeth out of her normal bedtime routine habit. She mentally smacked herself, just knowing she would have to do it again later. Grabbing her phone off the bathroom counter, she went back into her room, making sure that the door to the bathroom and the regular door were locked. Elena was going to come yelling at her when she came home; Addie didn't need her walking in with Damon in the room.

Sitting next to Damon on the edge of her bed, she sent a text to Jeremy saying she must have run too hard because she was feeling nausea and was just going to go to bed early.

"What's up?" she asked Damon gently, turning his hand so it held hers.

"It's abo-," he closed his eyes in annoyance as Addie's cellphone buzzed next to her. He really hated the damn things. "Do you need to get that?"

Addie checked the phone and began tapping out a text, "I'm sorry. I told Jeremy I was sick. He wanted to know if I needed anything. If I don't answer he'll be up here in twenty minutes with a bowl of soup, glass of orange juice, comic books, every type of medication he can find. It's just best I respond." Addie gently tossed her phone on the floor, a few feet away. "Ok, no more disruptions from that."

Damon tried not to stare at her ass as she crawled up the bed and stacked the six or seven pillows she had against the headboard. With the seem of the blue boyshorts just visible, the gym shorts had been quite a bit shorter than he had imagined. He groaned silently; here he was trying to at least keep her semi-modest and it seemed he subconsciously screwed that up. He was not made to be with such an innocent virgin. Addison was going to be the re-death of him.

"Damon," she said for the second time, nudging him with her knee."

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, rubbing a hand over his face, When he finished his eyes were clear again, not glazed over and he was focusing on her.

She patted the spot next to where she laid propped up, "I said no shoes on the bed."

"Right," he nodded, furiously unlacing his boots and working his way next to her. Not sure how this talk was going to go, he decide to push his luck.

Addie watched Damon chew his lip nervously. It unnerved her to see him like this; he was always so confident and self-assured. She was about to say something when he did.

"Will you hit me if I change the positioning a little?" he asked her, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"It depends," Addie cautiously answered, surprised that Damon had ask instead of just doing like he normally did.

He smirked but she noticed it didn't reach his eyes, "I'll take that chance."

He pulled out the pillow behind him until there were only two, dropping the others to the floor, he slid down until only his head was elevated. He reached over and grabbed Addie's hips, trying to focus on anything but the strip of skin between the top and short. His eyes flickered up to her for any signs to stop; not seeing any, he guide her down next to him. She shrunk back when he went to put his arm around her.

"My hair will get you all wet," she frowned.

Damon stretched to reached his arm her. His voice was deep and hoarse, "I don't care about that, Ads." He let out a breath he hand know he had been holding when she rested her head on his chest. There was the cucumber melon again in the hair and the smell of watermelon with blackberries. Feeling her hand slid up his stomach and come to rest on his chest cause a hitch in his breath. _Screw it_, he thought as he allowed himself to let two fingers trace over the gap in clothing at her waist; he was a dead man condemned to hell already.

"You're worrying me, Damon," Addie admitted softly after about ten minutes of just laying there.

"I'm sorry,"he said automatically, his tone monotonous. "Don't. Don't worry, Ads," he said after a minute. "I'm doing enough of that for the both of us."

"I know you like to play lone ranger but sometimes it helps to have someone worry with you," she suggested.

He squeezed her waist before he went back to stroking it like he was, "It's more like I'm thinking too much and I feel like I'm just going to explode." He immediately regretted his words as he felt her stiffen.

"Should I be concerned?" she inquired trying to sound casual.

"No," Damon reassured her, shaking his head against the pillow. The sun had set and the room was dark now, letting him see the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling for the first time. "I always thought those were so cool. I like the ones that have the planets. I think it would be really fun for a kid's room to put the solar system on the ceiling."

"I thought they would have been easier to hang on your type of ceiling when I was in your room." Addie's brows furrowed in confusion, "I thought you didn't like kids."

"I don't but it's not exactly like I can do it on my ceiling. It's not the smoothest move when you bring a girl home. Somehow, I don't think that what they mean when they say 'doing it under the stars.'"

Addie laughed, "True but, I don't know, I think it could be fun to try."

Damon snickered, only to receive a light slap to the chest.

Damon bit back a laugh and spoke, "I'm not laughing at you I promise. I'm laughing at the idea. Some poor sap would probably spend like a week putting up those stars and you would be too distracted by how he misplaced a star in a constellation to be into the sex."

"First of all, I'm going to be questioning myself as to why I'm sleeping with someone too stupid to read a star chart; I mean it's freaking connect the dots. Secondly, shouldn't the sex be good enough that I'm not distracted by something like that?" Addie countered, joining in with Damon's laughter.

"Well, it _should_ be. The vast majority of guys will leave you very unimpressed," his stomach tightened sickeningly at the idea of anyone else touching his Addison.

"Oh but I'm sure you wouldn't, right?" Addie giggled.

Damon smirked, "You'd be so impressed you'd think the stars on the ceiling were real."

He grinned as he felt her bury her face into his chest, trying to suppress laughter.

"That was one of the worst lines I've ever heard," he could make out of her mumbling.

"You're right," he laughed, "it was pretty bad but, come on, you're leaving me with glow-in-the dark stars to work with.

"No defense," she decided, resting her chin on his chest and looking up at his face. "You actually had the whole solar system up there so that gives you a goldmine of lines. You do get credit for not using the whole "forget your name" one.

Damon shook his head in disgust, "Oh, no. I'd never use that," He lift his head and bent it towards his chest and used the hand not teasing her waist to bring her lips. "You'd hear your name way too many times to forget," he murmured against her lips. "Ads," he sighed, pulling back from a kiss. "Addie," he moaned quietly, having momentarily forgotten what he was doing when she began to kiss back. She knew what was coming next and it was clear from the racing of her heart and shortness of her breath that she wanted it. He gripped at her hip as he dove back in for a hard, deeper kiss. Her lips were searching and desperate under his. He groaned softly as she fisted his t-shirt, her nails lightly raking over him. When her tongue hesitantly prodded at his lips he wanted nothing more than to let her in and kiss her senseless. He knew he had to stop though, for his sake, for both theirs, possibly.

"Addison," he whispered finally. He knew she felt rejected that he pulled away; he saw it in her eyes and it hurt. "We still need to talk, Ads," he muttered. She nodded, settling her head against his chest again. The pain was still in her eyes. "After that, if you still want, I promise we can pick up right where we stopped," he promised, desperate for the right words to comforted her. He felt her nod against him and relax a little.

He rubbed her bare shoulder and the skin at her hip as he took a few minutes to collect his thoughts. "At the house today, you brought up that you want the supernatural out of your life and I started thinking. I mean I am actively helping you in your deal with Katherine so you can get me out of town. With that woman, who the hell knows what that means! I could actively be playing a role in my own death. And why? Because I care so damn much about a girl who drives me ten types of crazy!" he exclaimed in frustration. Damon felt Addie's hand slid on his chest until it was under her cheek.

"Ads, I can't go through the pain of having you in my life now only to be kicked out in 3 months, or 6 months, or however long it takes for Katherine to get what she wants. It's not fair to me for you to be with me while it's convenient and be gone the second you get what you want. I think I've been screwed over by women enough to last me a few lifetimes." The guilt he felt grew as he saw why Addie had moved her hand when she sat up, pulling her knees to her chest. She was using held hair to hid her face well and the rest of her body didn't betray her. However, Damon was certain of the teardrops that covered the back of her hand.

Addie brushed away the tears that had fallen and took a deep breath. Her voice was stiff and formal but the only way to stop the tears was to detach herself from the situation. "You're right, Damon, you have been. I apologize that it appeared, well, does appear that I am just using you. I care about you, a lot. I'm not going to lie and say I wish I didn't because it would make everything so much less confusing. However, I've accepted that I really like you. But the truth is, I've already dug a hole so deep I can't get out of. I tell Katherine the deal is off, she kills me. I don't tell her and I don't have a chance with you but at least I only have to worry about werewolves."

"We're not sure about the werewolves. We just know they're something," Damon interjected the correction.

"Much more comforting," Addie snapped. "Thanks for the enlightenment, Damon."

Damon sighed and sat up next to her. He rubbed her back in slow, soothing circles, sensing she was still on the brink of tears. "Are those the only two options you see or are they the only ones you _want_ to see?"

"That's a loaded question," she muttered, slowly shaking her head. "Is there an option where I get to ship off the part of you that I'm afraid of? The part of you that killed my brother?"

"Noooo," Damon drew out. "That part is located pretty close to my heart, making it kind of permanent."

"Then I don't know, Damon. I don't want to live in fear of you getting pissed off."

Damon looked up at the little plastic stars as he confessed, "I knew I was going to the wrong sister that night, when I was waiting for Elena."

"Then why go to her," Addie scoffed.

"Guilt," he shrugged.

Addie shook her head, "I don't understand one word answers."

"I knew exactly what Elena would tell me and I knew it would hurt me; I just didn't know it would be that bad. Jeremy got caught in the crossfire."

Addie peered at him in speculation, "Guilt drove you to Elena? You wanted her to hurt you."

Damon nodded.

"Are you even capable of that emotion?" retorted Addie.

"Yes! I felt guilty about making out with Katherine!" Damon snapped

Addie rolled her eyes, still angry with him for that night, "Why? Though you wait 150 years for that."

"Because I had just really kissed you and you actually kissed me back! I mean, I had just told you how much I liked you. Then what's the first thing I do?! I felt bad. I still do!" Damon insisted; she had to understand.

"If you felt guilty about something involving me, why not come to me? I mean did that seem a little too logical?" sneered Addie.

Damon's eyes narrowed, "I didn't come to you because I didn't want to hear that the kiss had meant nothing to you anyways. That I hadn't done anything wrong. Tell me that's not what you would have said."

Glowering she mutter, "You still should have come to me instead."

"Rejection from Elena is one thing. Rejection from you…." Damon trailed off, shaking his head.

"It was still enough to make you act out, apparently. I don't want to have to walk around on eggshells, feeling like I always have to give you what you want or you'll snap and hurt someone without a magic ring."

"I can promise you that if you gave me everything I wanted, I would not want a relationship with you. I need someone who will stand up to me and call me out on my bullshit. Someone who won't deal with me when they think I'm acting like a whiny five-year-old. It drives me crazy that you do those things but-nevermind," Damon sighed, shaking his head.

Addie looked at him curious, "But what?"

He scowled, "Nothing. It's another _delusional_ thing my mind comes up with. It wouldn't change anything so it doesn't matter."

"I want to know, Damon," Addie persisted. "I'm really looking for reasons to try and figure a way out of this. What you say does matter."

"Fine! It makes me think you actually care about me," he snapped. "Happy now."

Grinning slightly, she nodded, "Kind of. It's one thing for me to tell you I care about you but it doesn't mean anything if you don't actually feel it. I mean, I know I do it because I don't want you getting an even bigger ego and having it be your downfall and call you out and don't put up with crap because I'm watching out for you and if everything went your way all the time you won't know what to do in a real crisis or you'd snap a neck every time you didn't get your way. Feeling entitled turns you into a bad person. Just look at Katherine. I don't want that for you. But why would you think me doing those things means I care?"

"Exactly those reasons," Damon agreed, grinning stupidly. "Plus, it's similar to how you treat Jeremy and Elena and I know that there is no one in the world you care more about than them."

"I don't think the whole entitlement idea is working on Elena but yeah, if I must admit, I care more about my siblings than typical siblings do. Despite the occasional dream of a miraculous alternate universe where Elena was never born," Addie finished dreamily.

"You love her," Damon pestered. Addie shrugged and made a noncommittal noise. He hesitated a moment, "Does this mean you want to hear my plan where we keep fooling Katherine and giving us a shot because we're going to somehow outsmart Katherine when the time comes for to get me out of town and I end up staying because you're not going to kick me out of your life right away?"

Addie ran her fingers through her hair; it was at least starting to dry. "When can I kick you out of my life without the risk of someone being killed?"

"As soon as you're not happy and you've given us a chance to try and fix whatever is wrong," Damon promised quickly.

"I already promised you one chance," Addie countered.

Damon clarified, "That's for me not to do something stupid and screw up. But every relationship just has the normal wear and tear. Sometimes you get a flat tire but that's why you carry around a spare."

"Ok," she nodded slowly in agreement. "Damon, how many relationships have you had that weren't based on sex or compulsion and didn't involve a psychotic vampire."

Damon looked uneasy for a minute before shrugging, "So, we're both new at this. Has to be a first time for everything, right?"

"You really look like you're gonna be sick," Addie said slowly.

"Just thinking of all the ways this could go wrong real fast without me even having to try anything," he answered in a pinched voice, looking pale, even for a vampire.

Addie patted him gently on the chest, "Welcome to what's been running through my mind since the concert."

"This is stressful," Damon muttered, looking at her.

Addie lit up, "We can set guidelines and goals. Sort of like a road map."

"You're actually serious, aren't you?" Damon asked, running a hand over his face.

"Mmmmmm, slightly. For example, I can't do what Stefan and Elena do. I cannot be in contact or seeing you 24/7. I can't be around anyone that much; I sleep just to escape myself. Plus I'd probably try and stake you, which I don't think is good for a relationship."

"Yeah, that's a good one," Damon looked at her flatly. She shrugged innocently. "Oh! I want to establish something before you can object to it to it! Gifts; I'm allowed to buy you whatever I want, whenever I want."

Addie smile at him softly, "Damon, that's really sweet but-"

"No buts. I already established it. I've only ever bought myself stuff. It will be fun," Damon grinned like it was Christmas morning.

Addie dropped her face in her hands, "Please don't go crazy."

"We'll see," Damon shrugged. "Depends on how much I like it."

"What do I and do I not tell Katherine?"

Damon had to contemplate that one, "We'll play it by ear. See what she want. See what we want to share. What and when do we tell everyone else?"

"Nothing until Katherine says so, then we will figure out the what. What about sex?" Addie asked quietly, her face flushing.

"Three criteria for that: you can ask me without turning into a tomato, when you're ready, and when I'm ready. My mind is trying to grasp the idea of you being at least 15. Right now it's still stuck on 17. Can you believe I actually have principles? I'm vaguely disgusted with myself," Damon said conversationally, having already given too much thought to the topic. He watched Addie think; her eyes would narrow and there would be a dimple under the left one. It was cute.

"My 15th birthday is over seven months away and 17 is two years on top of that," Addie pointed out slowly.

Damon nodded, "I know. Those are just numbers in my head that I'm working on. I'll wait until you're 25, if that's when you're ready. I'm not in this to sleep with you, Ads. Do I want to? Definitely but not until you're ready."

"And you can wait however long and be faithful to me?" Addie asked skeptically.

Damon's lips twitched, "I suppose I deserve that. I'm not going to lie to you; I love sex for a very long list of reasons. However, I only need one reason to stop having it and that's you. You're far more important to me."

Addie looked at him shyly, "What if I decide I'm ready before 15?"

"Doesn't matter; you're not old enough," Damon answered sharply.

"Jeremy and Elena both lost their virginity at 14," Addie countered.

Damon gave her a hard look, "You know that is a bad argument. Besides, neither of them were sleeping with someone who's 23, I'm guessing."

Addie snorted, "You really want to go into the age thing? I think you're just a bit older than 23."

"It's not the same thing," Damon said seriously. "The body of a 14, 15, even 17-year-old boy is very different than that of a 23 year-old man."

"Not enough to stop 23 year-old men from marrying 14-year-old girls in the 1860s," Addie pointed out. Damon didn't have a response to that one. "How old were you when you lost your virginity?"

Damon shook his head, "That's very different."

"Because I'm a girl and you're a guy?" Addie quipped.

"No?"

Addie pursed her lips, "You were 14, weren't you?"

"That has nothing to do with now," Damon deflected.

"Fine!" Addie groaned in exasperation "Honestly, I'm not even close to ready. I was just interested in how serious you were."

"You didn't believe me," Damon stated rather than asked.

Addie shrugged, "You kind of have a reputation and are full of bad romances. I didn't want to just be another conquest. And if I _am_ just another notch in your bedpost, I'm sure as hell going to make you wait for it."

Damon flopped back on the bad and covered his face with his hands, "You are going to drive me certifiably insane."

Leaning over him, she slowly pulled his hands away from his face. "Oh, we're both going to end up completely off our rockers." She bent down and pressed her lips against his firmly. "Are we still allowed to do that or do we have have to wait until I'm 15?"

"Depends on if you're going to be a smartass," Damon taunted, letting the tips of his fingers ghost up and down arms, her hands bracing her on both sides of his head..

"Mmm," Addie hummed looking deep in thought, "I think I should find someone a little more...interested...in a physical relationship.

As she began to pull away, his hand shot out. He slid his hand up the back of her camisole and tugged her back over him. "Oh, I'm interested," he murmured, his eyes were dilated and voice deep. His free hand slid into her damp hair behind her neck and pulled her down until her hips were angularly placed against his waist. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions but he wanted to feel her against him; however, he didn't want to scare her off with possible reactions he might unwillingly have.

"You know, I think we could even get away with this," he smiled pressing his lips to hers. They were soft and responsive under his ministrations. He could feel her part her lips slightly and he felt a smug sense of pride. He nipped gently at her lip, encouraging her out further open. she let his tongue swiftly flick at her's, again tasting of vanilla and cinnamon. Slowly, he coaxed her tongue into his mouth to take control. She stroked at his tongue for a few moments before she abruptly pulled away, surprising Damon.

"What's wrong?" he asked quickly, propping himself up on his elbows.

Addie shook her head, "I don't know. You're the expert. Isn't this suppose to be fun, enjoyable? What am I doing wrong?"

"You're not enjoying it," repeated Damon slowly.

Again she shook her head, "Just tell me what what I'm suppose to do."

"It's not a formula;it's not that simple. Besides, you aren't doing anything wrong," Damon looked down at his hands, his eyebrows furrowed, "Have you always felt this way or is it just too much too soon or something?"

Damon ran a hand over his face, hit ego definitely bruised. He'd _never_ been told he was a bad kisser. He'd definitely admit there were many things he was bad at when it came to women but his skills in bed were beyond excellence; or at least he had thought so.

"You look like I just killed your puppy," Addie confessed guiltily.

Damon laughed bitterly, "Just my ego."

"To you, that's probably worse," she added thoughtfully.

"Yeahhhh," drew out Damon.

Addie raked her hand through her nearly dried hair, "I _did_ enjoy it; like earlier tonight." Narrowing her eyes at a shadow in the dark she reflected, "I don't think I like the tongue. Something about the tastebuds creeps me out. It makes me think of porridge; I don't want to think of porridge when I'm kissing you."

Damon bit his tongue to stop the laughter that threatened, to come forward. It was definitely the strangest remark on hissing that he had ever heard, but that was his Ads, throwing a curveball when he least expected.

"I'd rather you think of me rather than porridge, personally," he grinned. Damon thought for a moment; he knew he would enjoy it but he was more worried if Addie would. "Do you trust me?" he asked, popping right up in front of her face.

"Er, that depends," she said slowly, started by his sudden movement.

Damon clarified, "Do you trust that I'm not going to bite you? Well, I mean like with fangs."

Addie peered at him, "Mostly but less and less with your weird questions."

"We can kiss with more than our lips but it requires you to trust me. I don't want to just jump right into and it and have you freak," Damon explained patiently.

"You realize the more you talk the dodgier and fishier this sounds, right?" Addie informed, raising both eyebrows at him.

"Then I won't talked," he muttered, leaning his head towards her before pulling back. "Just push at me if you don't like it or want me to stop. I lead, you follow," he instructed.

Addie nodded. Her lips moved under Damon's softly and slowly, not entirely comfortable with the idea that he was in complete control. Damon felt her gently shiver under him and he tugged her bottom lip between his and gently nip at it.

Drawing back slightly, he look down at her, "Any better?"

"Getting there," she mumbled, running a hand up his chest and into his dark twisted on her knees so the were chest to chest, giving her better access to him, From this vantage point, he was the one who had to look up.

Her free hand slipped down his neck under his shirt collar. Leaning down and letting her fingers play with his hair, constantly nipping at his lip then pulling it it back into her mouth to soothe is. She felt one of his hands covering her bottom and gently squeezing at the rounded flesh while the other pulled her pact to lay on the bed with him. Finally she drew his bottom lip out, tightly with two teeth and ran her nails across the breadth of his shoulders. Damon groaned deeply, reflexively squeeze his hand around her lower cheek scraped his nails down her back lightly.

"Don't look so smug," Damon pouted. "I could have gotten a much more _active_ response from you but I was being courteous and gently easing you into the idea."

"I know," she smiled softly, "and I really appreciate that, You've been more concerned about my feelings that I ever would have expected. However, I don't take you much for the gentle type, I figured I might as well speed the process along."

Sliding his hand up under her camisole and playing with her belly button ring, "I can do gentle!"

"I'm sure you can," she acknowledge, slip her hand out from under her shirt and tracing along the elastic of his boxers. "I just figured you prefer…" she shrug, a light blush gracing her cheeks, "hard and rough, if given the option."

Damon shook his head and pulled her in for a chaste kiss, ''This isn't about what I want; it's about what you want, Ads."

Addie pushed her hand on his chest and leaned back until she could look him in the eye, "It's about finding what we both want, Damon. We both have to be happy."

"Mmm," Damon hummed, pulling her head down towards his, gathering up the hair on her side of her neck. "I was happy; I was very happy." He kiss from just beneath her ear to where her neck and shoulder met. He frowned at the lack of reaction, Kissing back up the neck he was much more pleased with her response and so was she if her tightening grip on his hair was anything to judge by,.

"Damon," she forced out and he wasn't sure if it was a plea or a warning. From the desperate look on her face, he reckon she didn't know any better than him.

He would have had to been a paraplegic not to notice the way she grabbed at his belt loop, trying to get him closer. Reluctantly, he forced his fingers from her belt loop.

She gaped at him, a trace of desperation in his eye, ''You can't just do that and suddenly stop, Damon!"

"Oh, I can," he grinned. After a moment his light eyes darkened, " But I'm not going to,"

Addie squealed in surprised as she suddenly found herself under Damon but he captured the sound with his mouth. He kissed her fierce and hard, tugging and pulling at her lip. Experimentally he gave a sharp nip. He groaned, immediately wishing he hadn't s Addie wrapped a leg around his waist. Tried to pull away from the heat of her and his will power was. Still reacting to the bite he held on her, her hips flexed instinctively against his and her hands clutched at his shoulders.

Damon growled, giving into his most basic instinct; he let himself thrust against her. He bit his lip as her soft feminine hands brushed over his five o'clock

"Addison May Gilbert!" barked a voice, slamming on the the bathroom door.

They two sprang apart, Damon landing with a hard thump on the floor.

"Go. Away. Elena," Addie called back, her frustration barely restrained.

"No! We need to talk!"

"Why does everyone need to talk tonight?" she muttered under her breath.

Damon shrugged, his arms wrapped around her from behind as he pressed hard kisses against her throat, "But I'm betting our talk ended better."

"Addie, I need you to go to Duke tomorrow," her sister insisted.

She could hear Elena sigh reluctantly, "Because I can't handle a whole day with Damon."

Addie eyes narrowed at Damon.

"It kind of is a good point. Please," he whispered, gently holding her face, "come tomorrow. If not for your sister, then for me." He gave her a quick kiss before disappearing; she noticed her window was open.

Rolling her eyes, she opened the door for Elena, "Explain just exactly what I would be getting myself into."

* * *

**A/N: If that wasn't obvious, that was my first even semi-smut scene. I don't know what I'm doing so if anyone wants to help write them or beta, please let me know. **

**I'm sick of writing 8,000 words on a tablet. It's slow and my typos are worse than usual. I might wait until I get my replacement laptop before posting more, unless a sudden storm of inspiration hit's me. **


	18. Chapter 21

"Keep frowning like that and the wrinkles will become permanent," Katherine snipped. "A pitiful downfall of mortality."

Addie appraise the perfectly poised vampire. Her hair was perfectly curled, not a strand out of place. Her french manicure tapped on diner tabletop. Makeup perfectly accentuated her features in a way Elena's never did. She liked the black denim jacket she wore.

Katherine took a sip of the scalding black coffee Addie had order for her. Annoyed, she observed, "What's going wrong? You look like shit."

"Yeah," the younger girl grimaced, running her hand through her hair, "I was up until four tossing and turning. Then I about had an aneurysm. When I can get Damon alone, he's definitely distracted but the minute my sister shows up, I cease to exist. He's been obsessed with your face for 150 years and was obsessed with Elena the whole time he was trying to open the tomb. Now that you're not an option, he's obsessed with a lookalike who is somehow less pretty. "

Katherine's eyes narrowed, "Are you falling him?"

"No, I still hate him," she reassured Katherine. "However, I am very concerned about you killing me if I can't get him completely distracted and wrapped up into me."

"A desire for self-preservation. Smart," remarked Katherine. "What's Damon doing when he's not with you?"

Addie scoffed, "Yeah, I found that out last night. He's obsessing of proving or disproving whether werewolves exist because apparently some guy beat Stefan in arm wrestling and one of his relatives reacted to the vampire device. Frankly, I could probably control a corpse with leprosy like a manikin and he would go running off searching for proof about zombies. I'm starting to think it's impossible for him to not focus on a task on mission of some sort."

"Obviously," Katherine stressed. "If he stopped running like that bunny in the battery commercial he'd have to face the emotions he likes to to pretend that don't exist. Where is he now, actually?"

"Remember Isobel's husband?" Katherine nodded. "Well, Isobel's lab full of research, including information on the lycanthrope, is still there since she is still technically a member of faculty since they haven't officially declared her as dead. So, Alaric, Damon, and Elena took a trip to Duke University to find information on werewolves because they just couldn't be content with vampires and witches already running around."

Addie noticed Katherine's nails rapped at the table slightly faster than usual. Looking up, her eyes narrowed suspiciously at Addie, "Why aren't you with them?"

"I thought it would be counterproductive and be kind of obvious if I kept trying to get Damon's attention while he's drooling over my sister. We were already scheduled to meet and I figured you could kind of tell me what to do. I don't know Damon like you do and I'm not exactly a master of seduction," Addie reviewed in a brief summarization of the many reasons why she didn't want to go.

Katherine's lips pursed suspiciously, "Why did Elena go? I tracked Stefan off with that blonde. Aren't they best friends? Should she be with her?"

"Do you want Elena's reason or the real reason?" Addie offered, Katherine raised an eyebrow. "According to Elena she wanted to get to know her birth mother but going through her things which if you had to put up with Elena when Isobel was around is a load of horseshit; I find her more interesting than my sister. The real reason, which if it wasn't obvious by her face, her diary definitely spilled, she hate Damon for snapping our brother's neck but she still pines for him and loves the attention he gives her."

"Ok," Katherine sharply jumped in. "We need to stop Damon from seeing Elena, completely. His little extracurricular activity is just going to draw attention to himself if he starts fishing around about a founding family. I can't have any attention on Damon. He thinks he's sly but he's as obvious as a plane crashing into your house. So far we've been playing it aloof but we need to move into offense."

Addie nodded in agreement, not really listening. When did she actually mentions the Lockwoods? Was it possible that Katherine had slipped up? Or had she been spying on them?

"We need to get you out of his compulsion," Katherine stated.

"Little secret," Addie disclosed, "I've been trying to stop it since I found out."

Katherine shrugged, "You're simply going to have to try harder. You either let me train you how to throw how his compulsion or you get him to train you. I don't want to run the risk of him compelling you again later into something that might become a problem for me."

"I'm drinking vervain daily," Addie objected, recalling Katherine's experiment.

"Yeah and Damon's not above locking you up for a few days to get it out of your system if he thinks you've betrayed him."

Addie brushed her long, annoying bangs out of her eye, "So, let me get this straight: I either get you to compel me, extensively injure me, feed me your blood, become free of your compulsion for like half a second and let the process repeat or I get Damon to do it?"

"Like I've said: smart girl," Katherine grinned. "On the bright side, the injuries don't need to be as extensive each time."

"Very reassuring," Addie grinned. "Now, how exactly am I going to tell Damon that I figured this out? Better yet, exactly how do I get him to agree to it while he wants me under his compulsion."

Katherine dug in her bag and found a small, brown, leather bound journal. "Turns out Madison Gilbert kept a diary of what I did to her each day. Or I went to the arts and crafts store and forged one. I don't remember which. It's basically a how-to manual for him. As for getting him to do it, that's partly why we need to nip all these other distractions in the ass and have him under your feminine charm. Plus it helps that Damon's a bit of a sadist."

Addie looked at Katherine skeptically, "And how do you plan to get all this done?"

She grinned broadly, "Didn't your sister teach you anything about boys? It's all about the time, the touch, and the face. You will be spending as much time as you can with him, particularly one-on-one. You will touch him every chance you get; run your fingers along his back as you pass by, sit close enough enough to him that your legs are pressed together, grab his hand for no reason. And you will never, ever leave you house without your face on. Lucky for you, you've got good skin and blush way too much naturally so you're just left with a bit of eyeliner, mascara, and a tinted lip gloss. You're eyes are amazing, we just need to make them pop and your lips should always look ready for the perfect kiss. Damon wouldn't go for anymore makeup on you; your innocence is part of your appeal. But we are going to change your wardrobe just a bit; we're going to go a couple of sizes smaller a.k.a into the proper size, which is meant to accentuate and not hide your curves. I'm debating whether or not we should show more skin because of the whole innocent concept…."

Addie had began smacking her head against the table, making little bits of her coffee slosh out the sides, the moment Katherine mentioned makeup. "I should have gone to Duke."

Katherine laughed, "Oh, sweetie, you'll have much more fun with me. Of course we'll have to drive out to the city so we can hit up Nordstroms, Neiman Marcus, and some of the best little boutiques."

"Whatever happened to Walmart? Kohl's? Old Navy?" Addie wondered helplessly.

* * *

It wasn't until Katherine had made her perform a bad 80s fashion montotage that Addie realized just how colorful her vocabulary was. She glared at the 17 large shopping bags in the of her woman. The woman had a retail addiction; Addie was pretty certain she didn't need five types of black eyeliner. The way she made Addie apply, take off, and reapply the mascara and eyeliner to Katherine's practically unattainable level of satisfaction made Addie fairly certain she had been a drill sergeant in her past life. It took an hour before she could apply the goop five times approvingly, relieving her of Katherine's barking of orders. Addie was slightly disgusted with herself for throwing a fit worthy of her sit when she sat in the shoe department completely unresponsive but she'd let Katherine kill her before she wore anything other than Converse. She was quite taken aback when this move resulted in four new pairs that Addie and Katherine both agreed as being cute.

Hearing Elena move about in her room, Addie went to her side of the bathroom door and knocked.

"Come in," came the drained voice of her sister.

Elena sat on her bed with a thick, old book and her diary. Addie took a seat in the desk chair. Maybe it was possible for them to have a civil conversation if Addie really, really, really tried. Then again she had already been watching her mouth around Katherine all day.

"Did you end up killing Damon?" Addie grinned.

Elena scowled at her sister, "Alaric was his guardian angel otherwise I'm sure I would have found some lighter fluid and a match."

"Would not have blamed you," agreed Addie, nodding her head approvingly. "Look, Elena, I know I let you down by not going but _please_ try and see it from my perspective. I'm not in love with Stefan or Damon. I'm not invested in their safety if these werewolves do exist or whatever. Look at what being involved with them has cost you. Your friendship with Bonnie is shaky at best. I barely escaped being killed by your vampire mother who kidnapped me and while I don't blame you for the fact that vampires are insane, it makes me concerned for my safety if I'm close to you. When will I be used as bait again? Will I survive the next time? And your relationship with Jeremy? That's worse than yours with Bonnie. Jeremy and Bonnie are my rocks, just like Stefan is yours. I don't want to go running off and doing things that is going to ruin my relationships with them. I already feel like you and I are in some stupid, unspoken fight because of the vampires and I don't even know what it is! I know you wanted me to help buffer with Damon but I don't want to go chasing further down this supernatural rabbit's hole."

Elena considered her sister's words, tapping her furiously on her diary, "You see, that sounds great and all and I would buy it if you hadn't gone running off to that concert with Damon. I'm sure Bonnie loved that, considering she was the one you were suppose to go with."

Addie crossed her arms, trying not to get too defensive, "You know the only person you didn't ask about where I was that day was Bonnie? If you had, she would have told you that I was at the concert with Damon. I asked her if it was ok for me to go with Damon before I even roped him into it. See, she's ok with me running around with him because she knows I will not have a problem killing him or Stefan. That's difference between why she is ok with me being around them and not you. You ask her to do things that break her morals when it comes to them because you love them. Deny it to high heaven and back, Elena, but I know you and I know you love Damon but you won't admit it. That's fine. That's your business. But when push comes to shove, you would pick them over morals. I wouldn't. Of course if it was you or Jeremy versus morals, I'd pick you guys in a heartbeat. That's just how love is. I get. I don't need you to explain any of your actions to me. I just want you to understand why I do what I do and not hate me for my actions. "

Addie watched Elena stare at her diary for minutes. She was about to leave when her sister spoke up.

"Ok," Elena heaved, "temporary cease fire. There is some truth in what you say. It's none of my business with what you're up too with all the sudden changes. I mean, you're wearing eyeliner, I think that's one of the signs of the impending apocalypse. At least that's what you told me when I tried to get you to wear it. I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say the change is about a boy. Addie, if you have to change who you are for him, he's not worth it. I know we want to rip each other's hair out most of the time but I'm still your big sister. I don't want to see you get hurt. And it's definitely in my job description to talk about boys with you. So, no matter how much we fight, I'm just a door knock away if you need me."

Addie grinned at her sister, "Thanks, Elena. Ok, enough touchy-feely stuff; it's making me sick."

Addie made to leave but turned back and gave her sister a quick hug before she did, catching Elena by surprise. Addie frowned when she closed the bathroom door.

_We'll see just how friendly she is when she finds out the guy is Damon._

* * *

Addie didn't text Damon that night. She had seen the longing looks he had given Elena this morning as they piled into the car headed for Duke. She wanted a chance to read Elena's diary to see if he had acted strange. She had to admit she was grateful he saved Elena's life when Isobel's assistant tried to kill her, think she was Katherine. What she wasn't so pleased to read about but not surprised was him trying to make it up to her for snapping Jeremy's neck. It had worked. She'd found him charming. Of course she did everything to make him feel rejected.

_Addie: Met with Katherine yesterday. Stumbled upon a clue. Use window._

Addie texted Damon but figured 8AM was too early for him to be up. Still, she pulled one of the outfits Katherine had picked out from one of the bags, a mint green eyeliner pencil, one of the seven different tubes of mascara, and a nearly nude peach flavored lip gloss. She shook her head in disdain as she headed into the bathroom to change. She definitely hated the skinny jeans, they were as tight as Caroline Forbes'. The cowled-neck of the mint green sweater dipped far too low and stretched far too tight across her chest. The lip gloss was too shimmery. About the only thing she was satisfied with was that her mascara was way less pronounced than Katherine kept making her do it and her eyeliner matched her shirt which matched she shoes. If she was going to be force into makeup, she was going to at least put a bit of herself into it. Briefly she wondered if her desire to color coordinate her eyeline with her shit which already had to match her shoes and the hues of her jeans was obsessive. Deciding she'd rather not go down that road she couldn't help but scowl as she looked in the mirror, besides the shoes and the eyeliner, she could see her sister wearing this.

"Did you have a major meltdown having to go a whole day without me and need major retail therapy?" came Damon smug voice.

Rolling her eyes at him as he laid streched out on the bed she bent down and picked up the math textbook and papers spread out on her floor. She stood up and and set them on her desk.

"Those must be new clothes from your shopping spree. I've never seen them before," surmised Damon, sounding much too innocent.

"Stop staring at my ass," Addie muttered, ordering the pages by section.

"Ok," he replied.

Addie snapped the papers into a binder and put it up on a shelf, "And stop staring at my boobs."

Damon cocked his head and grinned, "I'm gonna stare at _something_. Both are very well accentuated and extremely distracting."

"Count backwards from 100," Addie suggested, sitting on the bed."

He shook his head, "Distracting but not nearly as fun as staring." He sat up next to her and lifted her chin, "This on the other hand is both." Addie let there lips softly move together for a brief moment before she made to pull back. "Mmm-uh," Damon grunted in protest. He was quicker than Addie and caught her bottom lip between his. Slowly, he let it go. "It that peach," he asked, his voice cracking.

Addi stood up and walked to her window, her arms wrapped around her. She felt exposed. "You can thank Katherine," she acknowledge. She waved to the bags in the corner, "For all of it."

"Well," Damon drew out, sensing a growing tension, "I will be sure to write her a thank you note for whatever his in the Victoria's Secret bags."

"No. Hell no. Not in your dreams. Not in her dreams. It will probably haunt me somewhere in my nightmares," Addie snapped.

Damon looked at her seriously, "It can't be _that bad_, Ads. I've been in there. Knowing Katherine she could have dragged you to places much worse."

"Oh, she tried," Addie confirmed, her voice tight.

Getting off the bed, Damon walked over to her at the window. "Come here," he whispered soothingly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She eventually relaxed enough to slid her arms around his waist and rest her head on the firm muscles of his chest but he could still feel her tense.

"Why don't you ever knock?"

Like always it took him to follow her random line of questioning. "Because normal people knock. Not normal people crawl through windows. Want me to toss pebbles at your window? Stand outside with a boombox over my head?"

"That would be mortifying," she muttered.

"I'll keep doing what I'm doing then," he grinned smugly. "You know," he said after just holding her for a few minutes, "You never have to wear whatever Katherine made you buy. I mean, this is completely modest and you look great but it's very obvious to me that you're uncomfortable. I don't want you to feel that way."

"It is all pretty modest. You're apparently right about me having innocent stamped on my forehead. Some of it is actually pretty cute/ The problem is that it's all just too tight. I mean considering I've gone from wearing Jeremy's old clothes in the fifth grade grade to what I consider girly clothed now is a huge leap. Wearing them in what society considers the right size? Well, like you said, you're gonna stare at something. I'm not comfortable being stared at, especially when I feel like a Honda next to a Lamborghini."

"I swear I was following you and listening," Damon promised, holding her at arm's length, "but I got seriously confused when you started talking about cars."

Addie shook her head, "Nothing."

"No, I want to understand. This is obviously important to you," urged Damon.

"I really don't want to fight about it. We're getting along for more than two minutes; let's just go with it," Addie pleaded.

"So you can keep it pent up and let it grow and fester and we can have a bigger fight about it later?" Damon countered.

Addie sighed in annoyance, "Right now it's an irritation that doesn't need to be discussed because you will deny it and I'll get mad at you for lying. In the future, it could be completely irrelevant or you're going to act on it and you can't deny your actions. "

"What's this about?" Damon demanded, his temper rising.

Addie shook her head, "If I say it, you'll just say something back and a fight will start."

"Fine," Damon grit out, "I swear I won't say anything back."

"The way you still look at Elena with desire and longing. It's why Katherine felt a complete wardrobe makeover was needed, oh, and a list of other things . However none of that is as important as how weird she acted about the werewolves. I mentioned you were off at duke researching werewolves because a guy beat Stefan in arm wrestling. I swear I didn't say who. She started tapping her fingers a lot faster when I mentioned that. Then she specifically mentioned that she didn't need you drawing attention to yourself by digging into the background of the Lockwoods. Maybe she knows something from 1864 or maybe whatever she's doing now has to do with them. I mean Mason rolled into town right when she did. Far fetched but who knows what the fuck she's up to. I thought you should know that she was very insistent that I get you to stop looking into the werewolves. Oh and she doesn't like me being compelled by you. Turns out when you gave me your blood you undid the compulsion you had on me. Who knows why but she saw it before in my ancestor Madison Gilbert. Apparently if I'm healed from a severe injury by a vampire any compulsion they have on me comes undone, the more and more they do it, the less and less severe the injury needs to be, Eventually I can just throw of any compulsion from any vampire, So I'm presented with two options: have her do it and who knows what she'll compel me to do or convince you to do it. Either way, she's determined to make sure you can't compel me in case I slip up and accidentally tell you anything then have you get the vervain out of my system and turn me on her. She wrote a how to manual and it is very very disturbing. Oh, and I'm apparently supposed to spend as much time with you as possible and touch you as much as possible to deter the whole Elena thing. Yeah, I think that was about the dist of our meeting so I'm gonna go say good morning to everyone else in the house while you still have that speechless look because you have yet to stop clenching and unclenching your hands from when I first mentioned how you look Elena, which I should probably stop mentioning," Addie rushed out in one deep long breath before she shot out her bedroom door.

"You ok?" Jeremy asked his sister as she sat down next to him at the table. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Worse," she muttered, toying at the table mat. "Vampire."

"Katherine?" Elena inquired, overhearing their conversation.

Addie's brows furrowed in contemplation, "I'd almost rather it have been Katherine."

Jeremy's silverware clattered noisily against his plate, which was void of food but full of syrup. He sat up straighter and his protective face appeared, "What did he do? Why was he even here?"

"I invited him here," Addie admitted meekly.

Flabbergasted, Jeremy's mouth hung open, "You what?"

"You heard me," Addie snapped, not in the mood for a lecture.

"Addie," Elena asked concerned, "why do you look so….everything opposite of fine?"

Addie stalled, "Uh...we talked. It got awkward."

"'Did he threaten you? Did he say something inappropriate? I swear to God -"

"Relax, Jeremy. It was more something Katherine said that made it awkward."

Elena raised her eyebrows at her sister, "What?"

"Oh I don't know exactly! Something about your love triangle with both brothers and then somewhere along my name got thrown in there and hitched to Damon's. I really wasn't paying attention," Addie chattered.

"When the hell did you see Katherine?" Elena balked, wondering where the hell she had been when her sister had been off being damn near suicidal.

"Mmm, when she tried to impersonate you at the Lockwood's. Then when I asked her to either kill or help me kill Damon for snapping Jeremy's neck the next day. And-

Elena blinked rapidly, trying to take it all in, "You went to her for a favor? Are you stupid? To kill Damon? Are you extremely stupid?"

"And," Addie said louder, talking over her sister, "when you were at Duke."

Elena pinched the bridge of her nose, "Why the hell are you having play dates with Katherine?"

"She's very interesting and kind of fun," Addie said thoughtfully.

"I don't like this rebellious phase," Elena muttered to herself. "Any other news you'd like to share?"

"Mmmmmm, no but thanks for the talk. I feel a lot better now. I'll be in the attic if anyone needs me," she smiled, grabbed an apple and walked out.

Jeremy looked at Elena and frowned, "That was erratic, wasn't?"

Elena nodded slowly, her lips pursed.

"Have you notice her acting that way around you?" he questioned, looking queasy.

"I haven't been around her much but we talked last night and she was...fast and kind of scattered. I've notice some other things but I was thinking-"

"the rebellious phase," Jeremy finished. "Isn't she the one who started calling her actions that?"

"Yep."

"Do you think it's more than that?"

"Yep."

"Elena, this is bad. This is really bad. What do we do?" inquired Jeremy, hoping his sister would know because he surely didn't.

"Nothing," Elena hesitated. "We don't do anything until we know for sure. If it's true, we have to be as harsh as Mom and Dad. She doesn't get a free pass on this.

"And how are we going to know for sure? You think she's just gonna tell us?" Jeremy snapped.

Elena frowned, "We play dirty. I'll try asking around and see if I can figure it out for sure from that. If I can't, well, good thing I know someone who can pick a lock,"

Jeremy raised an eyebrow at his sister, "You'd actually do that? You know she would probably literally kill you if you go in her room, right?"

"Yeah, well, last time she almost literally got herself killed."

* * *

Elena knocked persistently at the door until someone answered.

"What's wrong?" Stefan asked, immediately pulling his girlfriend into a hug.

Elena blinked back furiously the tears that stung her eyes, "I need to speak to your brother. Now."

"What did he do?" Stefan growled protectively.

She shook head, "I don't know if he did anything. It's more that I need to know what information he knows."

"Living room," Stefan nodded, needing no further answers. He guided her with his hand on the small of her back.

"Elena! Always a lovely surprise," Damon looked up from the paper he was studying as they entered the room. His look quickly returned to all the information they had collected on werewolves from Isobel's office. He only gave the couple a second look when they sat down across from him. "I haven't looked at what's on your right. You can start there,"

"I'm not here about werewolves, Damon. I'm really worried about Addie and I'm hoping you could really help by answering a few questions," Elena stated firmly.

"Mmm," Damon hummed as if bored at the idea. "What makes you think I would know anything about Addie?" he asked casually, flipping the paper he was looking at over.

"Because I know you were invited into her room this morning and she came out looking anything but ok," Elena snapped. That definitely made Damon freeze. "Her excuse was that Katherine had said something that linked you two romantically and that made for a very awkward situation."

Damon set the paper down slowly and look up at Elena, his face blank, "You don't believe her?"

Elena frowned, "Right now, I'm concerned that Addie is capable of anything. The fact that she has been visiting Katherine already has me very on edge."

Stefan cocked his head at Elena, "She's what?"

"She told you that?" Damon asked after a long pause. Elena nodded. "Wow. Thanks for the heads up, Ads," Damon mocked to the air. "That definitely wasn't in the plan."

"It's true then?"

"Yeah. And she's an idiot to be going and spreading it around. Katherine's going to kill her," Damon ground out through gritted teeth.

"Ah, I think she might see herself as a bit invincible and is believing that more and more as time progresses, making her careless about what she says," Elena evaluated clinically."Is what Katherine said true?"

Damon winced internally and played dumb, "What part? She's been saying a lot of things."

"About you and my sister being romantically involved," Elena quipped with narrowed eyes.

Damon's eyebrows knitted together, "I fail to see how that's any of your business."

"It's my business because I'm trying to figure out if my little sister has put herself in serious danger by going off her medications and may possibly be having a manic attack that is escalating. Since she's not going to just flat out tell me and I will never find her medication to check if she is taking it if she does not want it to be found, I have to play the guessing game and promiscuity is one of the warning signs," Elena rationalized a little louder than was necessary.

Damon frowned, not fond of this new theory. "I wouldn't call it promiscuous by typical, societal standards but maybe by Addie standards, there's been a little bit. Of course, we should immediately rule out the idea that it could just be hormones."

"Shit," Elena cursed under her breath. "Of course Addison would label it a rebellious phase when its a damn train-wreck waiting to happen. I can't believe I didn't pick up on it sooner; the hair, the piercings, Damon!"

"Actually, not sure if this makes it worse or better but the hair and piercings were done under the manipulation of Katherine," Damon interjected.

"How could that possibly be better, Damon?! My sister is taking instructions from a psychopath! God, how long has this even been going on?!" Elena began to pace around the room.

"Is the need for less sleep a sign?"

"Of course," Elena snapped unintentionally.

Damon bit his tongue for a smartass remark, seeing she was in distress, "Well, that started the night your vampire mommy kidnapped her. I know she stopped taking her sleeping pills that night. She wanted to be more alert and ware of her surroundings as to not get jumped by vampires again. Told her it was a ridiculous idea but she seemed to be running fine without the sleep."

"That's probably when she stopped taking all of them. She complained about at least one making her tired and the other slowing her cognition. So that's what, just over two weeks? Two weeks? This is bad. This is really bad. You guys, I have no clue what to do," Elena whimpered.

"Tell her to be a good little girl and take her medicine," Damon shrugged, turning back to his papers.

Elena stopped pacing to stare at him. "You don't get it. She thinks she's fine and in complete control when she's off her meds but she's not. Do you know how scary it is to hear an 8-year-old kid talk about a suicide plan like it's a science fair project?! And it's actually a plan that would work! When she was ten she lit herself on _fire_ just to see how long it would take to catch. When she was 12, she thought she created a neat periscope type thing so she could watch a bullet come out of a shotgun. Thank God for a really strong kickback otherwise she would have blown her head of. She has a burn scar under her chin from it! Now with vampires and wolves and witches running around, who knows what crazy assed scheme she's going to want to try next that will probably end up killing her!"

"I don't think you have to worry about it involving the supernatural, she's not very fond of it," Stefan reassured her.

"Sounds like someone needed better supervision as a kid," Damon muttered.

Elena sighed, "She has a talent for slipping out of sight unnoticed."

"Or," Damon countered, "she's given plenty of alone time like right now, I'm sure."

"Uhhhhhhh, she was going to work on her music. You can usually believe that," Elena hesitated. "Right now I'm concerned with how to get her back on the medication."

Damon shrugged, "Brute force."

"She's a lot stronger than me."

"How did your parent's do it?" Stefan asked.

"Not in a pretty way," Elena frowned. They'd try all these tricks at home but they would always end up having to admit her to the hospital where they kept her for a few days until the medicine was back at the right level in her system. They'd have to sedate her though for the first dose. She fought off all the normal sedatives that they gave her something a lot stronger. It got her down for a night but it made her hostile, violent, paranoid, and delusional when she woke up the next day. The cycle would repeat for about three or four days, with her having less side effects to the sedative since some of her medications countered those."

"You know that's what you're going to have to do, Elena," Damon stated, staring at his hands

"Couldn't we just lock her in the cellar until the vervain is out of her system and then you compel her to take her medicine?" Elena asked hopefully.

Damon grimaced, "It's not that simple. She's already compelled to take control of her life. I'm sure she thought she was doing that by going off her medication. Compelling her to do something against the primary compulsion wouldn't work. She wouldn't take the medicines because they didn't make her feel like she was in control of her life."

"What do you mean my baby sister is already compelled?" Elena snarled.

"You can yell at me about that when your sister isn't in the middle of a manic attack and a threat to herself," Damon sighed warily.

"So if she won't take it by compulsion, why would she take it after we force it into her in the hospital," Elena huffed.

"You hope that she's swung back to normal enough to see the dangers of not taking it. She had to have a reason to want to take it. It's all up to her, besides the fact that she is being forcefully admitted to the hospital,"

Elena bit her lip, "She's not going to go willingly."

Damon shrugged, "Leave that to me. I'll meet you and your aunt there. She'll have to check her in."

"Damon," Elena started threateningly.

"I'm not going to hurt her. I'm just not going to spend five hours dealing with her whining and fighting like you would."

"Don't traumatize her or anything!"

"Elena, I will deliver your sister in a perfectly safe, manic condition through no use of fear, threat, or force, Just make sure everyone else aka little bro, is out of the house."

Damon sat there watching Elena text constantly for several minutes. Wasn't a phone call so much more efficient? The guilt he already felt for being with Addie had quadrupled in size. He had completely took advantage of her. She had been ill and vulnerable to...affairs, the entire time. She was going to completely hate him when all of this was over.

* * *

**A/N: Can't Damon ever just outright get the girl? Will this mean a complete change for Addie and Damon? Can Elena and Stefan keep their mouths shut about Addie and Katherine meeting up or will curiosity get the better of them?**


	19. Chapter 22

Damon rapped on the Gilbert's door three times less than thirty minutes later. He had sent Addie brief text stating they needed to talk and she had invited him over. He knocked again, louder this time. He heard the beat of feet tumble down stairs. He grinned as Addie threw open the door.

"I was expecting the window. Who knew you could knock like a courteous person?" she mocked, sticking her tongue out at him. "You look much less...scary than this morning."

"And you are much perkier," he smirked, poking her nose. "I am so sorry if I scared you this morning; I never wanted to do that."

She shook her head, pulling him inside, "I wasn't afraid of you but more than you would be upset with me for not trusting you."

Damon nodded as he let her lead him to the couch, "I was hurt but then I took a minute to breathe and look at the facts and to be honest, I wouldn't trust me either. "

"Let's not talk about it," Addie grimaced. "I just want to enjoy the here and now."

"Addison, what's going on? You're acting strange. You're too nice, too chipper, too… I don't know."

"i know but I'm _happy_. I can't remember the last time I actually felt happy. I mean I was all anxious this morning but then I talked to Jeremy and Elena and I just felt so much better. I felt like I was floating on a cloud."

"Uh-huh," Damon nodded cautiously. "Maybe because you told them about meeting up with Katherine?"

Addie frowned, "I did slip up there…."

"Katherine might find out," Damon said seriously.

It hurt Damon to see the frown reach Addie's eyes. She grabbed his hand and nervously played with his fingers, "I really screwed up, Damon."

"Nothing we can't handle," he reassured her squeezing her hand. "Elena figured it out about us, too, Addie."

'I never wanted to hurt her, Damon," Addie choked out, her eyes brimmed with tears.

Damon place a kiss on her forehead, "I know, Ads. Right now she's more worried about you than she is mad or hurt or anything."

"No," Addie shook her head. "No, she has no reason to be."

Damon looked at her knowingly, "I don't like it when people lie to me. I'm really worried about you, Ads. I'm worried you're with me for all the wrongs reasons. I'm afraid that you might get seriously hurt doing something reckless. I know your secret,"

She shook her head, refusing to believe that he could know; that it would matter.

"Yes," he said gently, cupping her face. "And I understand. When I turned off my humanity -"

"You turned off your humanity?" she asked in disbelief.

"That's what I said. When I-"

She pulled at the hand on her face and twisted her fingers in his. "What - why?"

"I swear I will answer you if you ask me again but now is not the time and place. You've got to listen to me right now. When I turned off my humanity there was no such thing as feeling too good. Flying too high wasn't possible. I understand that feeling. I get what you're chasing after, Ads. Problem is, you're so breakable," He whispered, pushing the hair out of her eye with his free hand. "Addison, you don't understand how scared I am for you, I've heard what's happened before. Ads, it's been a very long time since I cared for someone so much. Losing them killed me; you know I meant to permanently die. If I lose you - losing you ends very bad for a lot of people. it's because of you that I am able to stay straight and honest."

"It's not right to dangle the lives of other people over my head," Addie glowered.

Damon shrugged, "I don't really care about playing fair. I will lock you in the cellar if that's the only way I can keep you safe."

Addie looked at him challengingly.

"I'm serious. You can either come with me to the hospital or we can visit the cellar."

"Can't I just go back to taking them on my own?" Addie pleaded.

Damon frowned, "We don't trust you to. That way too happy feeling you just had is addictive. Gerring those medicines into you is the quickest way to get you thinking clearly."

She nodded, "I know but, Damon, the sedative, when I wake up, it's terrifying, Damon. I have no control over myself. My own thoughts horrify me."

"Don't fight them and there won't be a sedative," he promised.

"Then I'll feel every bit of the shame, the guilt, the fogginess that takes over my head," she whispered.

Damon smiled sadly, twisting a strand of her hair slowly around his finger, "I'll stay with you the whole time,"

Addie's head snapped up, her eyes wide, "No! You-you can't be there."

"Why not/" Damon pressed.

Her face flushed, "You just can't, Damon."

"Are you going to act all awkward around me after this?" He shook his head, trying not to lose his temper when she didn't answer. "You go ahead and do that, Addie. I'm sure it will go over real well with Katherine."

Addie glared at him, still blushing.

"Well, I've had enough. I'm leaving," he muttered standing. "You coming?"

* * *

"How, exactly, did you get her to willingly come down here _and_ get her to not resist the IVs?" Jenna asked Damon as she watched a nurse shove a need into her youngest niece's arm.

Damon shrugged, "Reasoned with her as to why she should come down here. Found out that the effects of the sedative terrify her and explained that if she didn't fight getting the medicine, they wouldn't need to sedate her. Kids tend to listen better when it's not a person of authority talking to them and she's probably a lot more reasonable now than she was at 12. Plus, I think Elena did a very good job of noticing the differences in her sister before she had a full blown episode."

Jenna pulled Elena into a hug as she blushed at Damon's compliment, "He's right. I should have been paying closer attention. You really did your sister a favor."

"She is not going to see it that way," Elena muttered.

Jenna gave a small, sad smile, "Eventually she will. For now, well, we're all the bad guys."

"Yeah. Sorry she kind of flipped out on you and threw you out of the room," Elena sighed. "Don't take it personally; she did the same to me. The only person I could foresee her possibly talking to would be Bonnie but I'm fairly sure she doesn't want Bonnie knowing anything about this so…" Elena trailed off, feeling helpless.

Jenna nodded, "I know. Do you think she wants us here?"

"Probably not. Once the medicine kicks in her conscience will go into overdrive and she'll feel guilty for interrupting our lives. Plus, I'm sure she'll feel ashamed and embarrassed. It's crazy how the meds work. First they send her down, crashing with crappy feeling but by the time she leaves, she's reasonable again," Elena mused. "Well, as reasonable as she gets, at least."

"Ok. Well, if you really don't think us being here is a good idea I'm just going to talk to the doctor and find out his opinion. How long will she be here? Is she going to be ok coming home? Things like that. Then I'm going to go check on Jeremy; he's been calling me every five minutes," Jenna informed her niece.

Elena acknowledged this and replied, "It's a futile attempt but I'm going to try and talk to her about 30 minutes after the nurse comes out."

"Good. That's good," Jenna thought, hugging her niece again. "I'll see you back home."

Elena made her way to the waiting area, with Damon trailing behind, while Jenna headed for the exits, stopping to talk to the doctor.

Damon sat next to Elena, "He's not going to know the answer to any of those questions, yet."

"I know. What are you still doing here?" Elena asked, looking at him quizzically.

"I need to talk to Addie," he shrugged.

Elena rolled her eyes, "She's not going to talk to you."

"I won't know that unless I try," Damon countered. He could feel Elena staring at him as he flipped through an old magazine he found on a side table.

"Just exactly how close were you with my sister?" questioned Elena, her voice showing hints of jealousy, anger, envy, and concerned.

Damon flipped the page, not even reading, "Jealous?"

"No!" Elena snapped. "I'm just worried how full of regret Addie's going to be."

"What make you so sure she'll regret it?" another page flipped. He could feel his shoulders tense almost painfully; having Elena voice his fear made it fear a lot more real.

Elena shrugged, "She hates you."

Damon shook his head, more to himself than in response. He and Addie had been...friends, at least until she found out he compelled her. Which he couldn't help but feel had a partial role to play in her going off her medication. Besides, it didn't matter if she hated him; she had to work with him if she wanted to survive Katherine.

"We just barely kissed a few times. It wasn't a big deal. Look, Elena," Damon said softly, dropping the magazine and grabbing both of Elena's hands in his. Hopefully he could charm or this would simply work because of reason. "Addie slipped up this morning by telling you about Katherine. If it gets back to Katherine that you and Jeremy and Stefan and I know that she's friendly with her, she will kill all of us and Addie."

"Ok, well, I'll make sure to impress upon Jeremy how important it is that he never say anything," Elena concluded.

Damon's eyebrows knitted together in concern, "Addie knew how important it was that she never say anything and she did."

"I know but she was sick," Elena said defensively.

"I'm not blaming her," Damon said softly. "All of us knowing puts your sister in great danger. How many times have you just accidentally said something? Katherine is smart. She will figure it out."

Elena pursed her lips, "What are you getting at, Damon."

Damon took a deep breath, "I want you to let me to compel you to forget that she ever said anything about Katherine. I know that's a lot of trust I'm asking for but it's your sister's life at stake. And I want to compel Jeremy, too."

"I don't know. I want to talk her out of it," Elena responded.

Damon looked at Elena blankly, "Do you really think your sister would normally be chatting up Katherine Pierce after everything she's been behind? I think the mania had her flirting with danger. What other reason would your sister meet with Katherine? She's not stupid."

Elena nodded slowly, "You're right. You swear that would be the only thing you would compel me to do? I mean, I really don't trust you but for Addie…. You really do care about her, don't you?"

"More than I should," Damon admitted. "I swear it would be the only thing I would compel you about."

Reluctantly Elena reached back and unclasped the antique necklace filled with vervain that Stefan had given. Ironic that he had given it to her in order to protect her from Damon's compulsion. Setting it her lap, she looked up into Damon's clear blue eyes expectantly. She loved his eyes; their color was so unique. Of course, Stefan had pretty eyes, too.

"You're not going to remember anything Addie said about Katherine or what Katherine may have said. Addie has not been talking to or meeting up with Katherine. You never asked if Addie and I were in a relationship of any sort. You don't know that we had a physical relationship," Damon commanded, staring into Elena's light brown eyes.

"Addie had nothing to do with Katherine. You and Addie are just friends," Elena responded monotonously.

Damon nodded. He broke eye contact with Elena and picked up the necklace in her lap. "Everything good?" he asked quietly, clasping the chain around her neck as Elena held her hair up.

"Yeah. That must have been the third time the clasp has come undone. I want to get a new chain so I don't end up losing it but I want to preserve the authenticity," Elena chatted, adjusting the necklace so it fell in the center of her chest. .

"I', sure a jeweler can just put a new clasp on it," Damon shrugged, sitting back.

Elena tilted her head at him and smiled, "I hadn't thought of that. You know, they've been done with her for awhile now. I'm going to go see if she'll talk to me."

Damon frowned as he watched Elena knock on the second door on the left side of the hall. She waited a few seconds and went in. By his count, Elena was in the room for less than 90 seconds.

"Well, she's pissed off. She's barely conscious but just alert enough to be really, really angry," Elena huffed. "She always has to be so difficult."

"At least she talked to you," Damon pointed out.

Elena rolled her eyes, "To tell me to get out, which she was very nice about compare to how she reacted when I told her you were here and wanted to talk to her. She's...yeah, I wouldn't go in there if I were you."

"It's not exactly like she can hurt me," Damon muttered, running his hand over his face. "Plus, you said it yourself: she's barely conscious. Why is that, by the way?"

Elena pursed her lips, "It's because she's being difficult and fighting the sedative they gave her. That's why she's so pissed off at you, because you said they wouldn't."

Damon felt his stomach rise to his throat. His guilt just kept growing, it seemed. "I didn't think they would. She cooperated with them. Why did they sedate her?"

Elena shook her head, "I'm not a doctor. I do know it's not whatever they gave her before that worked; she couldn't fight that. This has to be something milder because she was awake. She's a lot less scary when she's yawning and slurring her words at you though. She'll probably fall asleep soon. I mean, that will be good. She'll sleep until tomorrow morning probably."

"Did you ride here with Jenna? I can take you home if you want?" Damon offered. He had almost forgot about Jeremy. He needed to get the vervain off him and compel him before he said anything to Elena about Katherine. He didn't exactly want to leave but he might as well do something productive since his presence clearly wasn't wanted.

"Yeah, that would be great," Elena grinned. Damon felt a tug at his heart; it had been along time since Elena had smiled at him like that.

* * *

With the same duffle bag Addie used back in January at the cabin resting against his hip, Damon knocked on the door to Addie's hospital room. No answer. He slipped into the room and quickly shut the door, expecting Addie to snap at him but it never came. Dropping the bag of what Elena had proclaimed as "the necessities", which somehow weighed nearly 20 pounds, Damon slowly approached the head of the bed. Addie had the bed flat and seemed to be lying flat on her back. He shook his head sadly and lifted the pillow that was over her face. Her head was turned so her cheek rested against the bed and tear stains marked her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Ads," he whispered, lifting her head and sliding the pillow under it. Collecting all her hair, he draped it over one shoulder. Apparently the one good thing about not being physically sick in the hospital meant you didn't have to wear those horrible gowns and constantly worry about your rear showing. If the situation wasn't so sad, he would have found it painfully and unfortunately ironic. However, this meant she still had on the sweater Katherine had picked out on; the one that she didn't feel comfortable in. Damon frowned and pulled up the cowled neckline. He went to grab her hand and found that was where they had started a butterfly IV. Last he saw, they were poking at the veins inside her elbow. It angered him to see bruises already forming around the needle. He straightened her blankets and brushed the hair that had already fallen into her eye away. He sighed and sat in the rubbery, plastic chair next to her bed.

Two uneventful hours rolled by when his pants gave off the annoying beeps alerting him of a text message.

**Elena: Thnks again 4 watching her =)**

Damon slid his phone back into his pocket. He wasn't in a particularly good mood and he knew if he responded to Elena she would try starting a text conversation. She thought he was here to look out for Katherine; last time someone was in the hospital, they turned into a vampire. Damon highly doubted she would do that to Addie; at least not as long she believed her useful as she was. Him staked out by her bedside definitely bade him look like he was smitten or obsessed or whatever at least had his attention on Addie, like Katherine wanted. From what Addie had said this morning about Katherine wanting them to see more of each other, his watching over her constantly might seem a little premature but he didn't really care. He made a promise to her about the sedative and he broke it. He felt he owed it to her to be there when she woke up in case she was scared. Besides, he had to know if she still felt the same. Damon knew it was going to be awkward, possibly painfully so, but he had to make sure everything was ok between him and Addie.

Around eleven o'clock her eyes fluttered open for a few seconds but she didn't see him. Her abnormally dilated eyes slipped closed for another hour and a half. Her eyes lingered open for longer and she gave a low groan. Her head tilted to the opposite side of where he was seated, he knew he couldn't see her.

"Addie?" he said softly, standing up against her bed, leaning over just enough so she could see him.

She was already back asleep. At 1:43, he was almost certain she'd be awake when as she gave a long, low moan, as if in pain, and turned her head towards him. Her eyes remained closed though. Blurry, half-opened eyes peered at him for a solid thirty seconds at 2:20 before she slipped back into unconsciousness. Sighing, Damon rested his elbows on his knees and his chin in a hand, It would be a long night. At 2:57 they stared at each other, her eyes wide and glassy.

"Ads," he whispered, scooting his chair closer to the bed. Fear flashed through her eyes. He grabbed her hand in his tenderly, careful of the IV. Frowning, he felt her hand tense, Damon frowned further when she tried to pull it away. Her hand barely budged though his grip was more than loose enough. Deeper fear flashed in Addie's eyes. "Ads, it's ok. I'm not going to hurt you. Addison, I promise you're safe," he reassured her, dropping her hand and letting the backs of his fingers brush over her cheek. Some of the fear faded. "Can you lift your index finger?"

He stared at his fingers for a long moment. Eventually, he saw it rise about half an inch. He smiled at her. "Good. That's good. Listen," he said cautiously, he rested his hand reassuringly on her cheek, "you've been waking up in short bits for about four hours now. You can move; I saw you turn your head and you just lifted your finger. The sedative must just have you so drugged but it's wearing off. That's good. How do you feel?"

Addie licked her lips and croaked out, "You lied."

Damon bit his lip and poured some water from the rolling tray table. Lifting Addie's head up he held the cup to her lips. "Drink," he ordered, tilting the cup back. She swallowed about half the water before he felt her try and pull her head back. Damon set the cup back down and lowered her head. "I swear," he insisted, squatting so he was eyelevel with her, "that I had no idea they would do that. I talked to Jenna about it and they gave it to you because apparently the first few hours that you get the medicine in your system are full of muscle pains and nausea. Your body just doesn't react well to being given such high dosages. Today is the only day that they are going to sedate you. The dosage they will give you tomorrow will be lower and they'll use pain meds, anti-nausea medication, and your sleeping medication to keep you comfortable. I'm so sorry, Ads. I never meant to lie to you. Please," his voice cracked, "please believe me,"

"Ok," she mumbled, her eyes closed.

Hearing her breathing deepen, he sat back in the chair, realizing she was asleep again. At least she hadn't thrown him out. Not yet, anyways. Damon ran his hand through the hair fanned around her face. Veins starting to itch, he was comfortably reminded that he last fed before going over to see Addie for the first time that morning at her house, nearly 24 hours ago. It didn't matter; he would just have to endure it until he could get his question answered.

"Drugged or not, I cannot sleep on my back another minute," Addie grumbled sleepily, her eyes still closed but her voice sounding much more aware. Damon glance at the time; it was just a few minutes after four.

"Ok," he answered quickly, stepping up next to her, "left side or right side?"

Her deep blue eyes opened, the lids drooping with the heaviness of sleep. Damon smile at her and gently rubbed a fallen eyelash off her cheek. She stared at him for a long moment before answering him, "Right."

He went to help her turn her head, when she snapped at him, "I'm not helpless, Damon. I can turn my own head, you said I did it earlier."

"Yeah, forgot to mention you were groaning in pain while you did it," he mutter bitterly, shifting her waist and shoulder until she lay awkwardly on her right side. Grabbing a pillow she wasn't using, he placed it against her chest. Gingerly, flinching again at the bruising from the IV, he lifted her left hand over her and rested it on the pillow, pushing a little more on her left shoulder so that her weight rested mostly on her right pectoral and her arm wouldn't go numb. He stacked her legs, bending them slightly. She had just finished turning her head when he was done. Hesitating for the briefest moment, he climbed in behind her.

"That was _not_ an invitation," Addie snarled.

Damon smirked, wrapping his arm around her waist, "When do I ever actually wait for an invitation?"

"You need one to get into a house," quipped Addie.

He squeezed his arm around her tighter, "Smartass."

"Why are you here, Damon," Addie whispered, her voice trembling.

Damon pulled her hair away from her ear and neck. He rested his head on top of hers. From her unsteady breathing he could tell she was nervous. Damon took a deep breath, not expecting it to be as shaky as Addie's. "Things can't be awkward between us. Katherine will know something is up. We have to act normal around each other. We need to get the tension out of the way now. It's that or Katherine figures out something is up and retaliates."

"I'm not tense," Addie deflected defensively. "If there's tension then it's because of you."

"Oh, well," Damon replied, pulling her flush against him, burying his face where her neck and shoulder met, "I guess this -" he peppered the tender area with kisses between words, "doesn't bother you at all."

"Fine," Addie gritted out, her face hot, "you made your point. It's awkward. _I_ feel awkward."

Pulling back to give her a bit of space, Damon nodded, "I know. If I'm feeling a little uncomfortable, I'm certain you are. We do need to talk about this. Soon. However, I want you to be clear headed. It's also the middle of the night. Do you want me to let you to go back to sleep?"

Addie was quiet for a long moment. Propped up on his elbow, Damon could see her lifting each finger on her left hand then letting it drop back against the pillow he hand placed under it. "I'm not exactly going to be clear headed at any point while I'm in here. The sedative doesn't have me strung out anymore but they are giving me my antianxiety medication. I'm only supposed to take that as needed, such as when I can't sleep because of racing thoughts or when I have to go to something social. However, my technical prescription is three times a day, a whole milligram, which is a lot. Basically, I have no filter over what I say when I'm on it. I'm also a lot more aggressive and ruder under it's effects but I guess that goes back to not having a filter."

"Sounds like I'd be more prone to getting the truth," Damon surmised.

Addie licked her lips, "You would be. That doesn't mean I would have given you the truth without the medication." He felt his arm rise and fall around her waist as she took a deep breath, "There are some things I don't _want_ you to know, but under the effect of the damn medicine, I lack a thing called humility and will tell you almost anything."

Damon scoffed, "So, you don't want to talk now because you can't lie?"

"Well, it's not that I lie to you or would lie to you. I just wouldn't say every little thing that I'm thinking," Addie professed.

"Mmm, yeah, I don't like that idea. Besides, we need to talk _before_ you get out of here," objected Damon, feeling irritated.

He watched her bite her lip nervously before she hissed, "You don't need to know everything that I think; it's not always pleasant. But fine, whatever you want, Damon."

It surprised him to realize he had been grinding his teeth together. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "I guess the first thing is if you still have feelings for me or I mean, if you had feelings before all this."

"Irrelevant," Addie fired back.

Damon gave a short, bitter laugh, "Ok, well, would you mind explaining to those of us who can't read your mind how the past couple of weeks and what's happened between us is _irrelevant_?"

Addie groaned and made sure to articulate, "Feelings, no feelings. It doesn't change the fact that I cannot be in a relationship with you."

"That's not what I asked you," Damon responded, his voice tight.

"No," Addie snapped, "but it is exactly where you were heading."

Maybe he should have listened to her about the medication and waited to have this conversation. He couldn't deny that she did seem extra sharp; it made him edgy as he felt he didn't do anything to warrant such an attitude. Constantly reminding himself that it was the medication talking wasn't helping.

"Can you just answer the damn question? Feelings: yes or no?" dictated Damon.

"Yes," Addie spat out bitterly. "I've had feelings for you for awhile and I still have them."

Damon's steely blue eyes turned to ice as he growled out, "So you can't or won't have a relationship with me."

"Both," Addie reluctantly admitted, heaving a deep breath.

Damon froze for a moment. The itching in his veins was becoming more and more uncomfortable. "One word answers don't satisfy me, Addie. I'm lucky to follow your thinking on a good day. Now, you're speaking in riddles. Elaboration," he slowly enunciated the last word.

"I can't and won't because I'm not ready for a relationship with you, physically or emotionally. I won't because I don't trust that something wouldn't happen between you and my sister if given the chance. I can't because if I did, I would always feel like your 'Elena substitute' and I would be so mad at myself for being someone's second choice. I know Elena has you hooked in a way I'll never know exactly just how to do. I've accepted it," stressed Addie, "and so should you."

Damon shook his head, "No. Everything but you being ready is a load of crap. They're excuses that have no base in reality. I'm going to change your mind about all of that and then I'm going to be right here waiting, when you're ready. "

"That's ridiculous, Damon, and probably impossible," snipped Addie.

"I don't care. You promised me one honest chance, Addison," Damon glowered.

Addie rolled her eyes, "I also promised my mom I wouldn't steal any more cookies from the cookie jar. I stole three more after that."

Damon dropped his head near Addie's ear, his breath was warm while his voice was full of unspoken promises, "This isn't a joke, Ads."

He let her fall back to sleep after that; the rest could be discussed some other time. The stars and moon that dangled from her belly button ring were traced over and over between his thumb and index finger as he reflected on the conversation. There was still so much more he wanted to know. Around six, for about an hour and half he drifted off into a light sleep. The sound of a twisting door handle had him shooting out of the bed and back into the chair.

"Been here all night?" asked a portly, kind looking nurse, her hands full of IV bags. She smiled when Damon nodded. "That's good. No matter how much people say they don't want anyone here, they always seem to do better and stabilize faster when someone is around showing their support," the woman prattled, changing out the empty bags for the ones full of medication. "Did she wake during the night?"

Damon shrugged, "Off and on. She was awake for about thirty minutes around four."

"Good sign. I expected she's still pretty beat from everything she took in yesterday. I don't know what the difference is but she is definitely a lot better patient since the last time she was here. She'll sleep a bit longer I expect," the nurse chatted as she took Addie's vitals. "Be sure and get your own rest. You won't do her any good if you're burnt out," she instructed, leaving the room.

Damon slumped back in the chair, debating if he should sneak out and try and find some blood. His veins were starting to have an uncomfortable burn to go with the itching. Still, he didn't want to leave Addie alone. He hadn't lied to Elena when he said he was watching out for Katherine. Besides, he didn't want Addie to wake up alone.

A breakfast tray came up shortly before eight. The majority of it was fruit. Damon shook his head and bit back a smile; the only thing on that tray Addie would touch would be the cornflakes and the coffee. She didn't eat much better than a picky kid.

At 8:30, his saving grace arrived in the form of Elena.

"Thanks for staying with her. I can sit with her for a while," Elena smiled at him, her hand resting on his shoulder.

Damon shook his head, "I don't mind."

"Maybe not but you look like crap, no offense. You need your rest, Damon," Elena said sympathetically.

Damon stood up, scratching at his arm; that helped as much as drinking a bottle of water. "I'm not tired; I just need to eat. It's been over 24 hours and it's beginning to get to me."

Elena nodded understandingly, "Well, you go take care of that. Shower, change, sleep if you want. I'll let you know if anything changes."

Giving a long look at Addie, Damon nodded reluctantly. "I'll be back in a few hours. Just let me know if you're going to leave before then and I'll come back. I don't want her alone."

"I will," Elena promised, as Damon lingered in the doorway. "Go; I can take care of my sister."

As soon as the door clicked behind Damon and his footsteps could no longer be heard, Katherine picked up the chair he had been sitting in and placed it on the other side of Addie so she would be the first thing she saw when she woke.

"Addie," she whispered, shaking the girl's shoulder gently. It took a louder call and stronger shake to get a response.

"I'm sleeping," she mumbled, cracking one eye open to glare at her sister. Slowly she opened both eyes. "Katherine," she breathed, feeling extremely vulnerable.

"Good morning, sunshine," taunted the vampire, a large, toothy grin on her face.

* * *

**A/N: I really appreciate everyone's feedback and comments, it helps me see things that I may think are working but actually aren't or visa versa. **


	20. Chapter 23

Addie looked at Katherine warily for a long moment before she remembered. Twisting her neck, which was slightly stiff but definitely not painful, she looked around the room.

"Looking for Damon?" Katherine teased. "You're suppose to be playing him, not falling for him."

"I am," Addie scowled, jabbing the button that made the bed sit up. "Wasn't exactly the smartest thing, me calling you out on being, well, you, when the last I knew he was in the room. I was looking for him to see if I needed to do damage control and act paranoid of vampires or something. He's a really crappy watchman; he was suppose to make sure you didn't turn up and turn me into a vampire."

Katherine shook her head, "The poor sap. He just automatically assumed I was Elena. In his defensive, I think he was trying really hard not to eat you. Took a little pushing to get him to scat but I reassured him that you would be safe in the loving hands of your sister. He didn't want you to be alone; isn't that sweet? He'll be back in a few hours."

"Shame," Addie muttered. "I could do without him badgering me all day."

"Trouble in paradise? Suck it up. Having him glued to your sickbed is very promising," Katherine spoke as if discussing a business transaction. "Besides, you two looked _really_ cozy when I got here. All cuddled up and sleeping together, it was almost sickening cute."

Addie rolled her eyes, "That would be Damon giving himself permission to do whatever he wanted, considering I couldn't move. He actually was asleep? Ugh! Too weird."

"Really?" Katherine inquired curiously, her tone taking on a certain level of satisfaction. "You couldn't move and all he did was spoon you?"

"There was a brief assault on my neck," she added quickly, knowing that Damon would have considered last night another _private_ moment and not want Katherine to know about it. Since she already did, the least Addie could do was try and preserve some of his reputation.

Katherine shrugged, "Still, that's very um, restrained for Damon. You have him acting on good behavior; that's kind of serious. Courteous Damon is an anomaly that appears right before he falls head over heels in love."

"He climbed into my bed without an invitation," Addie repeated slowly. "I would hardly call that curteous."

Katherine waved her hand in the air dismissively, "That's nothing to him. You guys were already in bed together the morning of the concert. From that point it was established as acceptable by him. Courteous is him not trying to make you feel better his own way."

Addie scratched at her temple, "So, is this where we want him to be or do we want him… I don't know. It's your plan and you know him. I'm just doing what I'm told."

"It's better than I imagined," Katherine uttered to herself. She looked at Addie, and plucked a grape off the breakfast tray and popped it into her mouth. "Hungry?" she asked, nodding towards the tray.

"No," Addie spoke slowly. "Kinda focused on the next step of the plan. See, I'm balancing between this fear that you're gonna kill me because I can't possibly handle Damon, meaning the plan won't work and an eagerness to get the plan over with so I can be free of all vampires, particularly Damon."

"For now, I think you are doing a more than adequate job of handling Damon," Katherine smirked. Her voice dropped conspiratorially, "Thing is, Damon can only be courteous for so long."

Addie looked at her blankly, "So, what? You're suggesting I sleep with him?"

Katherine shook her head, "I'm not suggesting that but I do highly recommend it. It would make your task much easier and a hell of a lot more fun. You don't have to sleep with Damon but we are presented with a very special and opportune moment. If you can get Damon to feel like he can trust you and make him feel like you trust him, that's a big step. Another important thing is to make him think you care as much about him as he does you because, believe me, if he is being courteous, he cares _a lot._"

"And how do I do this? Because I'm not sleeping with him," Addie stated firmly.

"You get him to talk about his past."

"I think I'll have better luck sleeping with him," Addie joked dryly.

Katherine shrugged, "I told you it would be easier and funner. A lot more fun. Really, that's the only thing I miss about Damon."

Addie felt her stomach turn with nausea at the idea of Katherine with Damon. He deserved so much better.

"The easiest way to get him to open up about his past is to tell him about the darker parts of yours. He'll offer up as much as he wants. Never ask more than one follow up question. The trickier part is getting him to believe you care about him equally, that he's not wasting time and energy on you. Have you talked to him about building up a resistance to compulsion?" Katherine asked distantly.

"I mentioned it. With him at Duke and then me getting thrown in here, we haven't exactly had much time to talk," Addie cautiously answered.

"You trust only him to do it. You're so vulnerable physically and mentally that you don't want anyone else to see you like that. It's something so intimate that you simply wouldn't feel comfortable with anyone else," Katherine thought out slowly. "Work something like that to your angle. Would you let him drink your blood?"

"Uhh, umm, I - Well - I mean, yeah, yeah, I-I guess I would if I needed to for the plan," Addie stammered uncomfortably.

Katherine let her perfectly manicured nails drum against the armrest, "It would show him that you completely trust him. It's a very complicated thing to explain but there is something sentimental like about exchanging blood."

"Uh - no. New plan," Addie halted Katherine with a raised hand.

Katherine rolled her eyes, "You're going to be drinking his blood in order to learn how to throw off compulsion."

"And no more than necessary. I don't want to die and be be 14 forever!"

"It's still enough of his blood to count as a blood exchange. Frankly, it would still mean a lot even if you weren't drinking his blood," Katherine countered.

"Ok, ok, ok, ok," Addie spoke over Katherine, wincing. "Enough blood talk. I'll do whatever I have to do."

Sitting back, grinning like the cat that caught the canary, Katherine simply replied, "Good."

* * *

Addie watched blankly as the same jolly nurse that had attended to her the day she was admitted, the previous day, and that day changed the IV fluid bags for the final time that night. She scowled as the fluid bag filled with her sleeping medication was linked in with the others and slowly began to drip into the clear tube that fed into her hand. The crap medicine didn't do anything but make her feel sleepy; it rarely made her sleep.

"All set," grinned the woman. "Everything goes well, then you just have a six hour set at 7:30 in the morning and we'll have you on your way home in a skip and a jump after that," she beamed brightly at Addie, expecting a response but she wasn't entirely surprised when she didn't get one. The girl had been quite surly but it was still an improvement from the last time she had seen her admitted. Then she had been downright hostile. She patted Addie's shoulder before leaving, "Good night, hun. Just push the button if you need anything."

Addie hit the light buttons on her bed rail until her room was in complete darkness, the only light from the hall filtering in through the small window on the door. Still sitting up she stared at the shadows in the dark. As far as days in hospitals went for being crazy - not that she would ever admit that she felt crazy, she knew the right words to get out of here by now: "she had a disease, an illness" - it wasn't a bad day. Jeremy had brought up his entire collection of Batman comics, Addie's favorites, and the two had goofed around and made sure to shove their favorite editions under each other's noses.

Her head whipped to the door as it creaked open. It was only Damon.

"Sorry, I know I'm late. I was at-" Damon broke off and stared at her as she scooted to one side of the bed and patted next to her. "You're inviting me into your bed?" he smirked.

Addie nodded slowly, "But I'm pushing you out the second you start to be an ass."

Damon was silent as he climbed in beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, scooting until their sides were flush against each other. "You've got me confused, Ads. You talk to me the first night. I sit here almost all of yesterday and last night and this morning and I get nothing but the silent treatment. Now, I'm here."

"Katherine fooled you again," Addie sighed. She could feel Damon's puzzled look on her. "When you left me with Elena the other morning? That was Katherine."

"Fuck," Damon swore under his breath. "I'm-"

"It gets worse. She saw you sleeping in bed with me," Addie informed him monotonously.

Addie felt the groan in his chest vibrated into her body, "Oh, I'm sure she had a field day with that."

Addie nodded slightly, "Kind of. If it helps, she misses sex with you."

"No, no, that doesn't really help. She only says that because I already turned her down," Damon muttered, one hand fisting the blanket.

"Don't think so," Addie said slowly. "She seriously suggested I sleep with you because it would make the plan a lot more fun, apparently."

"Wow. Katherine Pierce can actually tell the trust without bursting into flames," Damon grinned. He laughed when the back of Addie's hand hit him in the stomach. Going serious, he grabbed her hand gently, the bruises around the IV a sickening black and blue. "Ads, why are you waiting until just now to tell me about Katherine showing up? You should have told me! What if she showed up again? You could have gotten hurt."

"She's not going to hurt me as long as I'm useful. And, honestly, I needed time to think over what she had said. I don't know how I feel about what she said and I don't know what to do. Yeah, we keep fooling her by going along with her plan but it's kind of starting to scare me how well she can read you and I don't know if we can fool her with this. I just...I want out of this deal I made with her. I don't want anyone getting hurt and that's what this plan is all about," Addie rattled off anxiously.

Damon dropped a kiss on the crown of her head and played with her hand, "Do you want to slow down and catch me up?"

"No," Addie whined. "But I should. I mean, I need to know and you deserve to know what she's saying since I dragged you into this."

"You're stalling," Damon pointed out.

Taking a deep breath, Addie muttered, "Are you on the precipice of falling in love with me?

Damon froze for several minutes, his breathing even halted. "Does it really matter?" he whispered eventually.

"No," Addie answered quickly, "no, it doesn't matter as long as you don't."

"Why can't I?" he asked softly, tracing patterns on her palm.

Addie stiffened, "Many reasons. Only reason you really need to worry about is that it's what Katherine is counting on."

Addie could make out the occasional swear word and insult to Katherine in the long, several minute chant that Damon ranted to himself.

"Uh, could I get the _Reader's Digest_ version?" Addie inquired, once Damon had stopped muttering and was staring at his lap.

"Katherine can go fuck herself. If I'm going to fall in love with you, then I will. If I'm not, so be it. That bitch can play her damn games but she's fucked with my heart too many times for me to let her do it again. It's already so screwed up that she's whispering shit about me in your ear; I don't care whether it be good or bad," Damon's cheeks were lightly flushed with blood, his chest rising and falling with angry breaths.

Addie slid her right hand, the one without the annoying IV, up Damon's chest and rested it over his racing heart. She noticed that he had sat up versus being slightly reclined in the bed. "Shhh," she hushed him, gently pushing him back with her hand, rubbing small circles over his heart. "It's ok, Damon," she reassured him, looking into his light blue eyes; they were stormy with emotions.

"No, it's really not," Damon grimaced, placing his hand over hers, leaving it pressed against his heart. "She undoubtedly gave you instructions on how to make me fall in love with you?"

Addie shrugged, "She always has a plan."

Damon gave a sharp nod. He closed his eyes and carefully picked out his next words, "I don't want to know what she told you, Ads. I can act like I'm completely blinded by everything but love for you, that's not a problem. You have several options: you can use Katherine's advice and I will fall in love with you; you can ignore her advice and I will still most likely fall in love with you; or you can do a bit a both and I will still most likely fall in love with you. No matter what you do, I'm probably going to fall in love with you. I just ask that if you're going to _try_ and make me fall in love with you, you do so with the intention of at least trying to love me back."

Addie pulled her hand away from Damon and picked at an invisible piece of lint on the v-neck baseball tee that was, like all the clothes she had here, too tight. Damon had picked the lock on her room so Elena could get her clothes and unfortunately, everything her sister selected was from Katherine's wardrobe makeover. She about throttled Elena when she discovered her sister went in her room but she relaxed slightly when Elena swore she only touched the bags and Damon had even watched her. The last thing she wanted was anyone finding her songbooks.

"You should probably know that I don't believe in love," Addie muttered.

Damon shook his head, "That's crazy. Everyone does. I've heard you mention how much you love Elena and Jeremy and your friends plenty of times."

"It's just a word I throw around because I actually put in how I feel instead of love, my sentence would be an essay," Addie shrugged. "To me, love would be completely unconditional. There is the primal bonding that we have between family members but that's an internal instinct for natural selection and survival of the fittest. When people say they are in love, it's just a chemical that's released in the brain. I can release the exact same chemical from scratching an itch. So called _love_ is just science. Real love would be willing to do whatever, die, or break all morals for someone else even after they generate a World War Two sized genocide and brutally kill everyone you have ever cared about and tortured you to within an inch of your life."

"You've given that some serious, marginally disturbing thought," commented Damon.

Addie shrugged, "Not really, that's just the easiest way for me to explain my idea of love - being willing to sacrifice it all for someone, even if/when they completely fuck you over or you realize they are just a horrible person. For example, if Elena killed Jeremy in cold blood and not because of mental defect, I'd write her out of my life. I wouldn't care anymore. Same if Jeremy did the same to Elena."

"But you like Jeremy more," Damon mused.

Addie nodded, "Yeah and writing him out of my life would hurt more but if he can't respect that I care about Elena and he just kills her, well, does he respect me and care about me? Does he deserve the same?"

"I think you have taken this to some really extreme situations for just one word," he muttered.

"Perhaps but I feel like the word means absolutely nothing anymore because of how freely it's tossed around," she said defensively.

Damon shifted so he could see her face, "Ok, taking a very, extremely, supremely giant leap out into the world of hypotheticals - see? Magical land made of cotton candy and rainbows?"

"Ok," Addie smirked, her eyes closed, "I'm in the very distant world of hypotheticals."

"If-_If_ I said 'I love you' to you, you wouldn't believe me?" Damon asked slowly.

Addie choked back a laugh, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Part of me is still trapped in reality where you said that to Katherine and well, we know how that turned out. Yeah, by my definition, I would not believe you."

"Ever?"

"Um, I don't think I could screw you over more than Katherine did and you went from loving her to hating her so I'm going to have to go with no. It's just not something I believe in, sorry," Addie shrugged at him.

Damon blinked at her slowly, "What will you say when you find someone that you would give anything to be with? When you come across that person that you care about more than everyone else? Someone you want to marry or spend the rest of your life with?"

Addie frowned, "Wrong sister. Elena is the one who believes in all that romantic stuff. As for someone to marry or spend the rest of my life with? To be honest, I get tired of being around myself that I sleep to avoid me. Constantly being around someone else? Having to share a life with someone?" Addie shuddered, "I think it's safe to say I have commitment issues."

"You're so young to be so jaded," Damon said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Or," Addie countered, "I have such an old soul that I know better that to believe in romantic comedies and fairytale stories."

"Well, of course life isn't like that but that doesn't mean you should shut out all chances of happiness," Damon shrugged.

Addie backpedalled, "Ok, I should revise my statement: I have lifelong commitment issues."

"Mmm, so you're open to a relationship until it gets too serious?" Damon asked arching a single eyebrow.

"Um, excuse me," Addie objected, looking at him pointedly, "I hardly think Mr. Playboy has a right to judge. You haven't had a serious relationship besides Katherine."

"True," Damon acknowledged, "but I'm not afraid of getting swept up in one if the right girl comes along."

Addie nodded understandingly, "Of course, I mean, just because it hasn't happened in 150 years doesn't mean it won't in the next 150."

Damon rolled his eyes, "I was a bit preoccupied, as you very well know. However, it seems the right girl has come around but she's too scared."

"Or, you know, she's dating your brother," added Addie.

"Not Elena, you twit!" he sighed in exasperation, poking her in the side, making her squirm.

Addie looked at him warningly, "Do not start that again, Salvatore."

"Start what again?" Damon asked dumbly, poking her in the other side, making her squirm closer to him.

"That!" Addie snapped.

"You mean this?" he asked innocently, poking her in the same side so that she squished herself closer to him.

"Yes."

"Ok," Damon shrugged, tickling her side relentlessly. She squealed and bit back laughter, climbing into Damon's lap to escape his wiggling fingers. He stopped, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her back against him. "You know, if you wanted in my lap, all you had to do was ask," he murmured against her ear.

Her cheeks were scarlet, making her threatening slightly less effective, "I'm going to shove you out of this bed."

"I don't think you can do that while you're in my lap," Damon replied thoughtfully, "at least, not without going down with me."

"I'd land on you; wouldn't be too bad."

Damon scoffed, "Are you kidding? These rock hard abs are much harder than the floor."

Addie reached back and patted his cheek, "It's so cute how delusional you are."

"I'll admit to all my delusions if you admit you're scared," Damon challenged.

"Fine," Addie shrugged as if it weren't a big deal, "I'm scared."

Damon frowned, "My abs are not harder than the floor. Um, I've forgotten what else you've claimed I'm delusional about; the list is quite extensive. Why are you scared?"

"I've already told you, Damon," Addie sighed, trying to pull away, but he only held her tighter.

"The reasons why you can't and won't?" he asked gently, resting his cheek against her head. He felt her nod. "I'm not trying to push you, that is the last thing I ever want to do, next to hurt you, but are not ready for a relationship with me because you're scared?"

Addie's voice was tight, "I'm not looking for serious, Damon. I don't see a middle ground with you; it's a fling or it's..._intense._"

"What if I went into this knowing it was middle ground only?" he said slowly.

"Do you even know what that would look like?" Addie asked softly.

"Nooooo," Damon drew out, "but that would be why I'd follow your lead."

Addie nodded, "And I have no experience."

"As you like to point out my experience is Katherine. You're not seeing my brother so I can't possibly see how you could do worse," he teased lightly.

"I-I wasn't lying when I said I'm not physically ready for a relationship with you, Damon. I don't even think I'm ready to kiss you. I mean, I know I have but-"

"Hey," Damon interrupted, squeezing his arm around her waist. "It's ok. You don't have to explain or justify anything to me. It's ok. Poof! I just forgot that we ever kissed. No pressure to try again before you're ready."

Addie leaned her head back against his chest. She put a hand over his cheek, the feel of his 5 o'clock shadow tickling at her hand. Slowly, her hand pulled his face down and when he was close enough, she gently pressed her lips against his cheek. Addie dropped her hand and Damon pulled back, smiling down at her.

"Bop!" he smirked, poking her nose before the silence between them became awkward.

Addie swatted at his hand but it was already gone, "Jerkface."

"Ouch! You're so mean!"

Addie shook her head, "You're the one who bopped me."

Damon gave a huge sigh, "You're right. Hey! I never told you why I was late! Mason Lockwood is a werewolf."

"Glad your little barbecue gained you information that you should not be digging into,"Addie sulked.

"Because Katherine says not to? That's when you search ten times harder. I never even got to tell you what we found at Duke, besides a research assistant who shot an arrow in my back while trying to kill your sister," Damon defied.

Addie sighed, "Do I even want to know why a research assistant tried to kill my sister?"

"Doppelganger hijinks," Damon shrugged, figuring Addie wouldn't appreciate the finer details.

"I don't like knowing about this stuff, Damon. Mason Lockwood proves your little theory about werewolves being real. I don't need all of the Duke research to confirm that. So, pick the most interesting thing you want to tell me and no more wolf talk," Addie said gently but firmly.

Damon pouted, "Fine. I guess, hmmm, oh!" He dropped his voice to sound eerie and mystical, "The Curse of the Sun and Moon, it's Aztec in origin. It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story: 600 years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed them, making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the sky, who's ever unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf."

Addie blinked, "That has to be the most unfair curse I can think of."

"Wait? No it's not!" Damon rebutted.

"Vampires only get to walk around say eight hours a day while werewolves get to walk around all the time except for 8 hours every 28 days? Can you not do math?" Addie pointed out obviously.

It was a long moment before Damon responded, "The vampires were too badass and were killing all the Aztecs. They needed stricter curfews."

"Yeah, I think I just won that argument," Addie grinned, condescendingly patting Damon's arm around her waist.

"Isn't Katherine throwing some temper tantrum because I have you under compulsion?" Damon distracted Addie, recalling something she had said to him the morning before she was admitted.

Addie stalled for a fraction of a second, remembering how Katherine said to manipulate him. "Sort of. She's paranoid that you're going to compel me to turn against her. It's partly why she has this ridiculous password or code that i have to text her once a day and it changes every day with this crazy pattern."

"Wait, why, exactly?" Damon asked. He felt like he missed half the story when talking to Addie sometimes.

She shrugged, "You know, like if I miss a check-in you probably have me locked in the cellar, getting the vervain out of me. And there's like a certain word if we're suppose to meet but I can't because it would look fishy if I disappeared for a few hours, a code word in case it seems like one of you are suspicious of me playing double agent. Just...she's paranoid. Of course I think a requirement of being brilliant is being paranoid."

"She's not brilliant," Damon snapped.

"Agree to disagree. Anyways, she is hell bent on making sure you can't compel me, one way or another. You remember how, when against my instruction, you saved my life with your blood and when I woke up I wasn't compelled?"

Damon nodded, "Of course I remember. One, you hate me for it it. Two, that's never happened. It's not supposed to happen."

"I have the honor of being some anomaly," Addie smirked unpleasantly. "Turns out Katherine came across someone who would react the same way. one of my ancestors, Madison Gilbert. Don't get me started on the name similarity. Apparently, my sister was the only child my parents' didn't feel the need to inflict with a hereditary Gilbert name, or a variation of one."

"Yes, parents and names, the cruelty. Can you get back to Katherine and Madison?" Damon asked, anxious to get back on topic.

Addie frowned, "Did you know Madison Gilbert?"

"Everyone knew everyone then," Damon brushed the question off.

"Did you know her in a way that might have made Katherine hate her?" Addie questioned suspiciously.

Damon hesitated, "I ran off to the war to escape an arranged marriage that neither of us wanted, nothing for a rational person to be jealous over but Katherine could have possibly been. Why? What did she do?"

"Ah, well, it was an experiment of sorts. She made it so Madison could resist compulsion from any vampire," Addie informed him.

"The point, Addie."

"Fine. I'll forgo any attempts at delicacy," Addie huffed. "Katherine had Madison under compulsion when Katherine lost her temper and almost killed her. Then she changed her mind and fed Madison her blood and same thing happened like when you fed me your blood. Katherine tried compelling Madison and just giving her a bit of blood but that didn't uncompel her. Next she tried again but she gave Madison a little cut; she was still compelled. She then hurt Madison really badly again but she didn't let her lose quite as much blood. Yet again, Katherine fed Madison her blood and when she came back around, she was uncompelled again. She repeated this over and over, only hurting Madison a little less each time and every time she would be free of the compulsion after she was fed the blood. Eventually, she couldn't be compelled by Katherine or by any vampire."

Damon looked mildly disgusted, "That's just horrible."

"Mmm." Addie hummed in agreement, "and it's my fate. I either convince you to do it or Katherine is going to do it."

"What? No! Are you insane?" Damon asked, staring at her wide eye.

"I think the insane part was established when I made a deal with Katherine. Plus," she looked around as if for listeners before whispering up at him, "we're in the psychiatric ward of a hospital."

Damon frowned at her, "That's not funny."

She shrugged, "I can either laugh at the situation or I can cry about it. I decide to find the humor in my mental illness; keeps things interesting."

"Back to the part where you are repeatedly mutilated and healed by vampire blood?" Damon asked, raising an expectant eyebrow.

"Right. Should I tell Katherine she gets the fun or are you doing to do it?" Addie pipped, her stomach roiling at the idea of anyone doing it.

"Ads, I-I can't do that to you," Damon looked at her softly, shaking his head.

She nodded, "I understand. So, I don't really trust Katherine and I think she might enjoy compelling me a little too much. Would you mind getting my family out of town when she does this?"

Damon sighed, "Way to point out I have no choice but to do this. One problem, I don't know how."

"I already told you Katherine wrote a very disturbing how to manual. She had it spread out over a month with Madison but she thinks it could possibly be sped up to two weeks. It's mostly just important that your blood is out of my system by the time we….try...again," Addie explained.

"I can't do this," Damon apologized. "I can't intentionally hurt you!"

"You're going to be intentionally healing me. Immediately at that," Addie reasoned.

Damon shook his head, "Can't we get Stefan to do it?"

Addie scoffed, "And exactly how do we explain why we're doing this? Besides, I-I don't really trust your brother around that much of my blood in light of his recent slip up. If I do have to do this, I would prefer you do it over anyone else, Damon."

"I'm far too sober for this conversation," he muttered.

She looked up at him, her deep blue eyes reflecting with unfallen tears, "Believe me, Damon, I don't like it. I hate having to ask you to do this. This is one thing she's insisting on."

Damon dropped a kiss to her forehead. "We'll figure it out. We'll get it done. You mentioned Katherine wanted us to be seen spending more time together?"

"Yeah," Addie croaked out past a lump. in her throat She sniffled, "She wanted us to be seen together more and spend more time together one on one."

"Oh my god!" Damon gasped, looking horrified.

"What's wrong?" worried Addie with wide blue eyes.

He kissed her cheek, grinning, "I might actually have to thank Katherine for something.""

"Blah," Addie mattered, putting her hand in Damon's face and pushing it away. He laughed, grabbing it and gently pressing his lips to the palm, the back, and where her veins met at her wrist.

"You know you enjoy my wonderful company," he grinned cheekily.

Addie shook her head, "Another on of your delusions."

"Liar," he mutter, wrapping his arms tighter around her, "You know we have some good times together. So, how are you going to spend more time with me?"

"Um, well," Addie blushed, "Not to invite myself over or anything, I was thinking I could come to your place after school and track. I mean with everything that's going on, it's hard to believe that I don't want to be in my house."

"Mmm, I could pick you up, too," he thought.

Addie protested, "I don't want to put you out like that. I already feel bad enough for inflict my company upon you."

Damon his fingers through the ends of her dark purple hair, still loving how vibrant it looked against his skin but how well it complimented hers. "Think real hard, would I go along with either one if I really didn't want to? I love having an excuse to spend time with you. Though, you should know, your sister is over after school fairly often."

Addie's nose scrunched up in distaste, "It's a big house. I'm sure we can more or less evade each other for the most part."

He nodded, "Just want you to be aware of it. Do you go back to classes the day after tomorrow?"

"No," Addie grumbled, "Jenna is making me wait until Monday. I'm going stir crazy. I want to be back in classes."

"I know it's not school but the is essentially a library of the most boring, intellectual crap you can think of at my place. You're welcome to come over and read a very boring book and imagine your in class," teased Damon, just a bit sheepish.

Addie looked at him sternly, "You're not as cute as you think. However, I'd be lying if I said I haven't been itching to pursue those teaming cases of books. Though, Jenna is going to be keeping me on a pretty tight leash, for the first few days that I'm out of here at least."

"I don't think that will be a problem," he smirked. "After me convincing you to come in and cooperate and after tonight, I'm pretty sure she's a Team Damon fan."

"Maybe but probably not enough to send her niece off with you," countered Addie.

"If it's that or said niece sneaks out on her own accord, I'm sure she would prefer sending you," Damon disagreed.

Addie shrugged, "We'll see. Maybe I'll just sneak out and over to your place and you can call and tell her how upset I am at the house and you just think it might be a good ideal if I hung out there for awhile. I mean, your opinion should matter; you talked me into here."

"Upfront honesty might work better," Damon said slowly.

Addie fixed him with a scornful look, "That- coming from you? Are you even certain you know what that is?"

"Ok, ok, fair point," Damon said raising his hands in surrender.

"I thought so," she muttered. "Besides, if I come over this weekend, it will give us a chance to start on that stupid uncompelling idea. I've already not been drinking vervain since I've been in here."

"Oh the joy," grumbled Damon darkly.

* * *

**A/N: So, feedback? I'm not exactly sure how graphic to make the next chapter. I don't exactly know how squeamish people are but what Katherine has forced them into doing is an extremely unsettling idea.**


	21. Chapter 24

"Exactly where do you think you're going?" called Jenna from the kitchen table, her laptop open in front of her and textbooks and papers scatter across the table. She had decided to work on her thesis from the house just so she could babysit Addie.

Readjusting the backpack slung over one shoulder, Addie looked guiltily over her shoulder at Jenna, "No where. Just out. I've been in solitary confinement for practically five days now."

"Park it," her aunt ordered, pointing at the couch. "You haven't been in solitary confinement."

"No but I am going stir crazy," Addie argued.

Jenna tapped on the keyboard for a few moments before answering, "Then finish your homework."

"I already finished the book we won't finish in class for another two weeks. I wrote my history essay twice as long as it needed to be. I was so bored, that I actually have my math homework done through next Wednesday! Please, Jenna, I just need to get out of here," she pleaded.

Addie felt a bit of hope when she saw her aunt chew on her lip in thought; it was always the first sign of her caving in. Jenna shook her head, "Where would you even go? It's the beginning of a school day; all your friends will be in class."

"Well," Addie hesitated, "Damon has first editions of all these classic books and stories, including Edgar Allen Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He said as long as I stuck to the library and out of his office, I wouldn't interfere with his work. Of course he did say you had to agree to it, too but I knew you wouldn't hence the really bad attempt to sneak out. In my defense, I didn't know you were in the kitchen, though," Addie rambled on.

Jenna was shaking her head, "If you stop talking, you can go."

Skeptically, Addie studied her aunt, "Really?"

"Yeah, if you're not going to bother him. I know if I make you stay here you're just going to drive me up the walls out of spite, so fine. You may as well be somewhere where you aren't completely miserable and I really can't afford to lose a whole day's worth of work," Jenna conceded, flipping through a textbook.

"Ok then," Addie said slowly. "Um, thanks," she called, her hand on the doorknob once again.

"Wait!" Jenna interrupted her attempt to leave for the second time. "I want you to take your bike and go straight there, no detours or pitstops. I also want Damon to call me when you get there. Will that be a problem?"

Addie rolled her eyes, "No, it won't. I actually am telling the truth and going to the boarding house."

"Ok," Jenna nodded. "Go ahead and go."

* * *

Hearing the sound of leaves and twigs crackling under bike tires, Damon got up and opened the heavy wooden door and leant against the frame. He watched as Addie finished making her way up the driveway and locked her bike around a tree.

"What lie did you tell Jenna to get out? I didn't think you'd actually make it," he said in a tone of mild surprise as she stepped up onto the porch. He stepped out of the way and held the door open for her.

"Didn't lie," Addie shrugged, making the backpack over her right shoulder slid down her arm a little. "I told her I was coming over here. She doesn't believe that so she want you to actually call her and tell her I'm here."

Damon nodded, leading Addie up the stairs and to his room, "No worries. I call her while you get ready. Bring everything I said?"

"I think so," Addie muttered, running through the list in her mind again. "It makes me very wary about what exactly you're up to."

Damon cocked an eyebrow at her, stopping in front of his closed bedroom door, "You're gonna trust me with your life but you're going to worry about how I plan on doing so?"

"Your plans haven't always, um, gone according to plan," Addie pointed out delicately.

"Well, Katherine's guide is very messy. I'm just trying to reduce the mess factor," Damon shrugged, opening his door for Addie. "You change and I'll call Jenna.

Addie slipped into Damon's room, her stomach twisting and knotting. The comforter and sheets were back to black, just like they were the first time she was in here. She set the backpack down on the bed and pulled out her purple bikini top, the matching bottoms, and the boardshorts she wore over them that fell mid-thigh. She did not trust things that tied on the side to stay in place. She barely trusted the top and that was only because it had hooks. Addie changed quickly, stuffing her other clothes into the backpack.

Damon knocked at the door, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," Addie called back tugging at the zipper. She heard the door open and close and the lock click. It made her anxious but anyone walking in would definitely be bad. Turning, she saw Damon noiselessly pacing the room, looking like a nervous wreck. Waiting until he passed her again, she reached out and grabbed his bare arm, his tricep firm under her soft fingers. Standing on her toes and using his arm for balance she planted a reassuring kiss on his cheek. "Hey," she grinned, letting go of his arm and looking up at him.

Damon lifted his hand to his cheek, the area still warm from where she had kissed him. Uncertain, he asked, "What was that for?"

"You never gave me the chance to tell you hello. You just started right up with the questions. It's very poor manners," she chastised him jokingly.

Damon smacked his hand to his head. "You are so right. Completely deplorable manners." His hand felt large and strong against the bare skin of the small of her back; he didn't make to pull her closer but she was very aware of his presence. He dropped his head and planted a soft kiss on her cheek and murmured, "Hi, Ads."

Addie scrutinized him as he let her go and stepped back. "Are you drunk?" she asked accusatorially. She had smelled the alcohol on his breath.

"No, of course not," he insisted, "but I am very, very, very, very, very slightly buzzed. There's no way I could do this sober. Heck, I'm still not sure if I can do it. Look at how bad my hands are shaking! Do you know how easy it would be for me to slip up and actually kill you?"

Addie nodded understandingly, taking his hands in hers, "And alcohol is a depressant that eases the nerves and the shakes."

"Yeah," Damon affirmed, staring down at her bare stomach. Track had definitely kept her core muscles fit; he was fairly certain he would see the faint traces of a four pack if she flexed. That belly button ring definitely worked for her; it was very distracting.

Addie squeezed his hands and repeated her name, her cheeks flushed with the knowledge that he had been staring at her.

"I wasn't staring at your breast, I swear. Not that I wouldn't if I didn't think it would really piss you off," Damon said, his head snapping up but the glimmer of the jewel in the belly button ring catching his eye.

Addie laughed slightly, "I know where you were staring. I was asking you how we're going to get through this."

Damon was right about his theory, he could just make them out when her stomach contracted in laughter. "No idea," he muttered distractedly.

"Do I need to put a shirt on," Addie huffed, annoyed that he wasn't taking this seriously.

"No!" he let out far too quickly. He mentally shook his head and forced his eyes back up to Addie's face, "No, you have my full attention. I just don't know how we're going to get through this."

"Another drink?" she suggested hopelessly.

Damon raised an eyebrow, "You want me drinking and then trying to basically perform surgery on you?"

"If it's that or you perform surgery on me with your hands shaking like you have Parkinson's, I'll take my chances with the alcohol," Addie quipped.

Damon shrugged and walked to his dresser. "Your crazy plan so I'm at your crazy whims," he mumbled, pulling a bottle of bourbon out of his sock and underwear drawer. Taking a long drag, he could feel judging eyes on him. "Never heard that the best stuff is in the top drawer?" he asked over his shoulder.

Addie pursed her lips, "I think the expression refers to the _top shelf,_ not next to your lucky boxers."

"I don't have lucky boxers," Damon snarked back, rolling his eyes. "That would be preposterous."

"Right, well, are we good to go?" Addie huffed, getting impatient. She was tired of the bundle of terror in her stomach.

"Yeah. Yup. All set. Ready to nearly kill you," Damon nodded, rocking on his heels.

"Hey! You would have been very excited about this at one point," Addie pointed out.

Damon stepped up to her and slipped his hands on her bare waist, still keeping her at least a foot from him. He dropped his head and sighed, "I think it's pretty obvious my stance on the matter has changed."

Flushing from his hands on her waist, she grabbed his face between both her hands. She made him look her in the eye. Slowly and clearly she spoke, "If you will not do this, I will do it myself."

"That's complete nonsense," Damon stated, shaking his face in her hands..

"Not really. See, I feared you might have the tiniest of hearts in the black hole that is your soul so I brought my father's surgical kit. I sharpened the scalpel last night. It's actually a lot sharper than I would have imagined. So, you see, if you're not going to use your expertise of anatomy, I'm just going to have to cut my own throat. With me being such a novice, who knows if I will cut so deep that I bleed out before you can save me," Addie shrugged innocently.

Damon's eyes narrowed as he tried to read her, "I'm calling your bluff."

"Fine," Addie said simply, walking away from him and back towards the backpack on Damon's bed. Digging through it she found the leather case embossed with gold lettering reading 'G. Gilbert.' She pulled it out and unlocked it; the code had been easy to guess as it was her birth month and day. She looked over the instruments and frowned at the memories of her father it brought forward; most of them were of him stitching up her or Jeremy in the middle of scolding them for doing something stupid and reckless. The most serious case she could recall him using it in was when Elena had been bitten by a poisonous snake and they were out hour s away from serious medical attention. Her dad had made an incision, connecting where one fang pierced her skin to the other and did everything possible to squeeze the nasty green pus out and used a bulb syringe to wash the wound clean.

"Damon," Addie said slowly, the memory of the snake bring forth an idea.

"What?" he grumbled grouchily from the chaise in the corner.

Addie turned her back on him and ran her fingers through her hair nervously, "What if - I mean, could _you_ drain someone of enough blood to almost kill them and then feed them your blood, healing them?"

"Well, yeah. That's essentially the idea of snatch, eat, erase just on an extreme level. You don't usually want someone walking around with your blood in them, unless you don't mind the idea of a potential new vampire. You seriously ask the most random questions at the most random times. Aren't we suppose to be focusing on almost killing you?" Damon responded lazily.

"It's not entirely random," Addie mumbled, shaking her head. "I mean, instead of outright hurting me, couldn't you do that."

"No," he emphasised. "There's the risk that I wouldn't be able to stop."

Addie turned to look at him, frowning, "You're not Stefan; you stop all the time."

He nodded slowly, "Yeah but when you're around someone you care about a lot, the vampire body tends to react in two ways: lust and hunger. And I'm talking about in extremes, which are already ten times more reactive and powerful than in a human."

"Don't think humans have a desire to eat each other," Addie interjected lightly.

"And," Damon continued, speaking louder, " the power of one can be particularly strong, especially if the other isn't… being attened to. There's a good chance I couldn't stop myself if I fed from you, this is magnified by the idea of me feeding from you so much. If it was just a bit and I wasn't focused on taking you to the edge of death, I wouldn't worry about it but these are highly stressful circumstances."

"Was just a less tormenting idea," she shrugged, pulling out the scalpel from her father's kit. "So, I guess I'm doing this?" she asked pointedly, aligning the tool with her jugular.

"Hold up!" Damon burst out. He flashed in front of her and snatched the blade from her hand. "You playing doctor on yourself is not a good idea."

Addie rolled her eyes and reached for the scalpel, which Damon held above his head and out of her reach. "We've already established you're too much of a wuss to do it, so it's kind of the only option," Addie snapped callously.

"I'm not a wuss," Damon hissed.

Addie glared at him, a challenge in her eyes, "Then get the job done."

"I'm not going to hurt you," he growled.

Addie's eyes narrowed, darting from his mouth to his eye and back again. Her eyes flew wide in excitement, "Your like venom or whatever!"

"Random! You're driving me ten types of crazy here, Ads," Damon complained, getting annoyed that he ever agreed to this damn plan.

"Oh my god! Stop accusing me of being random! If your brain worked faster, you'd have no problem following along!" exclaimed Addie, getting fed up with his pissy attitude.

Damon raised an eyebrow, "I think your brain just works in some tragic, dysfunctional way that nobody could possibly follow."

"That is possibly true," she conceded. "This fighting is getting us nowhere. Look, when you bite someone, doesn't it hurt them only for a brief minute then they go like numb?"

Damon tilted his head from side to side, contemplating the answer, "Sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"It depends on whether or not venom is released. It numbs the area, releases a nice "floating-on-clouds" experience, basically makes the victim compliant. It's a matter of choice," he explained.

Addie, spread out her hands as if the answer were obvious, "You bite me just enough to release venom, I'm high as a kite, where you cut me is numb. The only pain is just for a second when you bite me."

Nodding slowly Damon considered this idea, "Yeah, that could work." _Except I'm pretty sure something bad is going to happen if I drink your blood_.

"Well, jump to it vampire boy. Let's get this over with," Addie said, feigning eagerness.

"Fine," Damon agree, pulling off his shirt. "Distracting, isn't it?" he smirked smugly when he caught her eyes roaming over his chest.

"Shut up and get to the point," Addie mumbled, her cheeks growing hot.

He grinned and mimicked her from earlier, "Do I need to put a shirt on?"

"Less talking, more blood draining and healing," Addie commanded.

"Not here," Damon muttered, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the bathroom.

'

Addie looked at him puzzled, "Wha-?"

Damon opened the shower door and dragged Addie in behind him. "I told you it was messy. As much as I enjoy seeing you in a bathing suit, I had noble intentions for getting you half dressed. Ok, run down of events so nobody freaks out. I am going to quickly pierce your jugular vein since it has far less muscle surrounding it than your carotid artery, theoretically, it should hurt less. Of course, it will require my fangs going deeper but the blood is under a lot less pressure so it should make less of a mess. With it flowing slower than the carotid would, I'll have a better idea of just how much blood you're losing. I'll make a deep, small cut right where I bite you to actually make blood start flowing. Thank god you're flying high because we have to wait for you to lose about 40% of your blood. Your pulse should be over 140 and weak, you'll have a significant decrease in consciousness, your breathing will be super fast, basically even if you were in a hospital, survival would be very unlikely. At that point I will give you my blood until you show signs of actively wanting it, at which point you will have enough in your system to heal the wound and start to rapidly replenish your blood. I expect you to be out of it for around 90 minutes to two hours."

"Thanks, Damon. Your cool, clinical detachment makes me feel so safe," Addie nodded dryly, wrapping her arms around herself in nervousness.

Damon rolled his eyes, "I'm sorry. Just give me a second to get all warm and fuzzy feeling about this."

Addie didn't respond, feeling herself starting to shake anxiously.

Damon wrapped his arms over those she had wrapped around herself and pulled her too him. He leaned his he back in frustration with himself. The bare skin of her back against his naked chest was exactly the type of distraction he did not need. He closed his eyes and counted to ten, allowing just those few moments of guilty pleasure.

"Lets do this," he sighed, giving her a tight squeeze. She nodded.

With shaking hands, he lifted the hair around the left side of her neck and shoulder and moved it to the right. He could see exactly where he wanted to hit with his eyes but he still pushed the area gingerly, when his hands were steady enough, he could feel the blood pushing through the artery. Bending his head, he gently kissed the spot on her neck, letting his fangs descend in his mouth. Squeezing her closer to him, he swiftly sunk his teeth into the thin layer of skin. Guilt filled him as he heard her sharp intake of warm blood filled his mouth; it was sweet, too sweet, just like it had smelled. He felt his throat constrict as he swallowed, making him feel like he was choking; it took him several attempts to get the blood down. He did his best to focus on releasing the venom but all his mind could do was think of watermelon. He pulled back, his mouth starting to fill with blood again. He spat it out in front of Addie, the glass door of the shower covered with burst of bright red.

Grimacing, he reach into his back pocket and pulled out the scalpel. With a deep breathe he started were one of his fangs had already pierced and dragged the blade down an inch, making sure the cut was several millimeters deep. He frowned as he watch blood flow out of it steadily. He could feel Addie's weight as she slumped back against him. It wasn't coming out fast enough; the venom would wear off before she would lose consciousness. Frowning, he took the blade and made a deep cut connecting where both his fangs pierced. He slid down the bathroom wall, Addie cradled in his arms. The blood began to flow faster and faster. He bit his lip; he was used to monitoring how much blood someone was losing based on how much of it flowed into his mouth. He wasn't really sure what percentage of blood loss she had suffered at this point. Damon pulled her head back and onto his shoulder; her eyes were closed and mouth slack.

"Feeding off of you would have been far less messy," he muttered, looking at all the blood that ran down Addie's chest and arm, some that had trickled down her back and onto his chest. It was mostly pooling on her left leg and onto his jean clad thigh. At least he made the right choice with the shower. With the jeans? Not so much.

He began to get nervous when she started looking really pale. His brows knitted together in concern; he was still counting her pulse at around 120, her breathing was quick but he wouldn't consider it rapid. The feel of her skin as cool and clammy was unsettling. He shook his head; this had gone on far enough. If Addie's life was on the line, he wasn't taking any chances. Biting his lip he shoved it to her pale lips. It took several long moments but eventually he saw her swallow and felt her taking in more blood from his wrist. When he felt her arms moved under the one he still held tightly around her waist, he pulled his wrist away.

"Enough," he whispered gently, kissing her temple. He sat with her for a few minutes before pulling her up to stand with him. "Not exactly what come to mind when I think of showering together," he laughed to himself, detaching one of the removable shower heads and turning the water to hot.

He washed Addie down, having the difficulty of needing to rub at some of the stickier, drying blood while still trying to hold her up and handle the sprayer. The blood on his chest came off when he worked on removing that which had gotten onto her back. They were both drenched when he was certain he had all the blood off of her. He lifted her out of the shower and wrapped her in an oversize towel he grabbed from the heating rack. He laid her down on his bed, anxious to get out of the horrible feeling that was wet jeans. Glancing over at Addie to make sure she was passed out, he stripped and pulled on a fresh pair of comfortably dry boxers.

Patting Addie down as much as he could with her wrapped in a towel and attempting to preserve her modesty, he dried her the best he could, tugging the towel down and retying in around her waist. Going through the backpack he had asked her to bring, he found a pair of thick winter socks and a thick, zipup Baltimore Raven's jumper. He closed the backpack up and and set it on the floor by the bed. These articles of clothing plus the electric blanket he had warming under his comforter for her should help to deal with the side effect of being extremely cold after ingesting a bunch of vampire blood. With the clothes on her, he carefully pulled back the blankets from under her before draping them over her into the bed next to her, his hand continually brushed over her cheek and through her hair.

To keep him busy while he waited for her to wake, he kept getting text messages from Blondie the Neurotic Vampire who was parked in the cellar watching as they dried up the vervain in her mother's system before they could compel her to forget about vampires, or at least Stefan and him. Normally he would ignore them but he had nothing better to do and she knew he was in the house and the last thing he wanted was for her to come looking for him. Last night, thinking it would make her feel better rather than paranoid for his safety, Jeremy had told Addie that Mason Lockwood was looking for a moonstone. Freaking out, Addie had actually called him for the first time to tell him about. He was looking up lore and legends regarding them when he first heard her whimper.

Addie remember this feeling of ice rushing through her blood though this time it was more like really cold water. It felt like contrast dye for an fMRI, PET, CAT was running through her whole body, only she didn't have the strange side effect of the dye that she might wet herself. However, she was surrounded by warmth, unlike when she felt this before. There was soft fleece encasing her chest though it felt a little wet and all around she wanted to do was sink down to the tip of her cold nose in the cozy cocoon radiating heat around her. When she tried to, she felt a firm grip at her shoulder preventing her.

"I'm sure you're cold," came the deep, soothing voice of Damon, "but I really want you to keep your head propped up for a bit longer. Just hold on a second."

Addie felt the weight of the bed shift around her as she could tell Damon got out. Opening her eyes tiredly, she followed him in his boxers, feeling herself blush, with her eyes to his closet. She never understood why some girls claimed a certain guy had a nice butt, yet, she was somehow sure that Damon would definitely have a great one. Mentally shrugging, she didn't feel guilty as she immediately looked at his chest, and all the dips and curves where his muscles were clearly outlined. If he was going to oggle her, she wasn't going to feel bad about doing the same to him. Besides, it was his choice to walk around in his underwear. She felt the bed shift again as he rejoined her.

"This should help a little," he said apologetically, wrapping a black scarf around her neck. She knew her sister's wardrobe too well to know that it was cashmere. "The cut had to be quite a bit worse than I had anticipated in order for you to be unconscious be the time the venom wore off. The skin is still really red and raw; I want to be able to be keep an eye on it," he rambled. Done tying the scarf, he drew back and looked at her with great uncertainty, "So are you still compelled?"

Addie ran her fingers through her hair at this question, feeling the ends slight damp, "Why is my hair wet?"

"I had to wash the blood off you, didn't I?" he stated matter-of-factly. She looked horrified. He rolled his eyes, "I didn't do anything. That's the whole reason you were wearing a bathing suit."

She nodded slowly, "Thanks, for doing this and for not taking advantage of the situation."

"Of course. I would do almost anything for you and I would never do something like that to you. It would take all the fun out of the challenge that comes with you," he smirked.

"Not to mention it's unethical or anything," she muttered and he shrugged. "Last time, you were able to tell if I was still compelled or not. Can't you now?"

His lips pursed in dissatisfaction, "You've become a lot more comfortable around me, on your own, without the compulsion. I'm having a hard time telling."

"So how do we figured out if this worked or not?!" Addie snapped.

"We have to do it again. Next time, I'll compel you you to do something completely stupid. If you throw that off, we'll know that you've thrown the other one off. You only have to wait two days to find out. Besides, one of us might be able to tell before then," concluded Damon; it was really all he could think of.

"Whatever," Addie moaned dejectedly. "Catch me up on what I've missed."

Damon got under the covers and wrapped one arm around her shoulder and the other around her waist. "You probably know this but Stefan and Elena are fake fighting because Katherine claims she's here to get Stefan back and apparently threatened, well, basically everyone, if they didn't stop seeing each other."

Addie nodded, "I knew that. They're not the brightest about it. He keeps appearing at the house and half the time her end of the bathroom door is open and I can hear everything."

"Oh! We have a new house guest for the next couple of the days, well, two apparently," Damon grimaced. "At the clean up event yesterday Mason Lockwood turned Stefan and me into Liz. Only reason we aren't dead is because Caroline showed up and killed the deputies helping her. Now, we're drying her of vervain and making her forget about Stefan and me. Of course, Caroline is here camped out watching her mom."

"What are you going to do about Mason Lockwood," she frowned.

"I'm going to kill him," Damon answered simply. "He's a threat and a liability and has to be taken down. Plus, after you told me he was going after the moonstone, I did a little research and found it linked to all kinds of lore and legends. I might have found something linking it to the sun and moon curse and undoing the wolf end of it but I'm not sure. I was looking at it when you woke up and obviously you're more important than some stupid rock." He kissed her cheek, making her blush.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that wasn't gruesome to write. I think updates are either going to slow down or chapters are going to get shorter between classes starting soon and doing a bunch of medical test simultaneously. Let me know which you guys prefer and I'll work towards that! As always I love you guys and your reviews, favorites, and follows mean so much. Even just reading this far means a lot. Thank you all so much!**


	22. Chapter 25

Addie looked at Damon for a few moments, watching him sleep. His arm was tossed across his face, covering his eyes from the rays of the early morning sun that broke through the shades. Carefully, she slipped from his bed and walked lightly across the room to his bathroom. She looked at the brand new toothbrush Damon had given her two nights ago in his holder, the image unnerving her. Shaking the feeling off, she ran the toothbrush under water and applied some of Damon's toothpaste to the bristles and began brushing her teeth. She couldn't help but smile at the memory of him pulling open a drawer full of trial sized toothpaste, dental floss, and multi-colored toothbrushes. For some reason she found the idea of the vampire visiting the dentist every six months very hilarious and ironic.

Looking into the mirror, her smile fell. Dressed in one of Damon's black t-shirts and a pair of his black boxers patterned with yellow smiley faces, which resulted in relentless teasing when he passed them to her, was all too _familiar_. This was the second night in a row that she had spent at the boarding house; Jeremy unhappily covering for her with Aunt Jenna. The first night had been excusable; Damon wanted to make sure nothing happened to her with his blood in her system. That night he had behaved, staying on his side of the bed. Last night, she had no reason to have slept over, other than the fact that they had stayed up until three in the morning just talking. That night he had held her close as they fell asleep. At one point she woke up with her head on his chest and an arm wrapped over the hem of his boxers, which had ridden dangerously low on his hips. It was too _couple-ish_. Though she'd be lying if she said it didn't make her heart race in anticipation.

Finished brushing her teeth, she padded across the room and back towards for the bed. Ever so gently she climbed back into bed, doing her best not to wake Damon. Addie settled back down, one arm stretched out under her pillow as she laid on her side facing Damon. The clock read that it wasn't even half past seven. She slid her eyes shut in an attempt to get more sleep.

Groaning, Damon rolled to face her slinging his arm from over his eyes to around her waist, his fingers pressing against the top of her ass as he pulled her flushed against him. He locked one of her legs between his. Burying his face in the hair at her neck, his words came of sleepy and mumbled, "No more getting up. Every time you do, I worry that it's so you can sneak out on me. That's the fifth time you've gotten up tonight. Go. To. Sleep."

"Hand. Off. Ass. I had to brush my teeth, morning breath and all. Besides, your internal clock is already aware that it is morning," Addie said very uncomfortably, feeling his morning erection brush at her lower stomach.

Suddenly wide awake, Damon was back on his side of the bed in a heartbeat, his hands covering his face, "I am _so_ sorry. I didn't - I don't - I'm really sorry, Ads."

She felt a little guilty to see him so upset. She knew he didn't mean any of it, at least not the physical parts. The words he said were probably true. Addie rolled over next to him and pulled a hand away from his face to gently kiss his cheek. "Good morning to you to. It's ok. I know you didn't mean to," she reassured him, sliding further under the covers so she could rest her head on his shoulder and slid her hand up from the bottom of his bare stomach, coming to rest over his heart. "Besides, shouldn't _I _be the one worried about _you_ sneaking out on me? I mean, that and bite marks are your M.O. I, on the other hand, am innocent of both."

He smirked, dropping a hand to his hip and shifting his other arm back over his eyes after glancing at the clock. "I might bite you but I wouldn't sneak out on you; I'd miss my good morning kiss. No excuse to get up for morning breath; it makes me self conscious about mine then," he bit back cheekily. His voice became more tired and serious, "For godsakes, Ads, it's not even 7:30. Four and a half hours of sleep does not make for a night. I'm not leaving this bed until at least ten. Some beautiful girl kept me up all night talking." Addie blushed as he was quiet for a few minutes. "Did you even sleep with how much you got up?" he inquired suddenly.

Addie nodded against his shoulder, "Yeah, I was just a bit restless. It's called insomnia for a reason."

"Mmm, no need to be a smartass so early," Damon hummed disapprovingly. "Is it because of me? Am I making you uncomfortable? Do you want me to stay on my side?"

"No," Addie said firmly. It definitely was because of his proximity that made her more jittery than usual but she didn't want to hurt him. "Look," she mumbled, sliding her head onto his chest and slipping her hand from his chest to around his waist, "I won't get up anymore. We'll just try and sleep."

Damon slid his waist up under his own shirt and stopped it just above where his boxer elastic rested on her. He groaned softly, hating that his sex drive didn't have an off switch.

"What's wrong?" Addie muttered, every nerve beneath his hand shooting off rapid bolts of electricity throughout her body.

Her head rose and fell as he took a deep breath. His voice was restrained and measured, "I tend to be a very possesive guy. You are wearing my clothes, and I'm particularly possessive of those boxers; they _are _my lucky boxers. I've watched you walk around in said clothes and they look more than particularly excellent on you. I've spent way too much time imaging you in my clothes and all the different things it could mean. I'd alway imagine I'd have a reason to feel possessive about you when you were in my clothes, because I can't help but think of you that way when I imagine you in my clothes. But, you know, it feels like shit because I have no reason yet I still feel like a possessive dick. I just made about as much sense as you usually do. And I most definitely repeated myself way too much. I don't like when I get nervous around you; I sound like an idiot."

"Excuse me but I always make perfect sense, I just tend to leave out important details that make it easier to follow along with," Addie objected, squeezing his waist lightly but defiantly. "And you didn't completely sound like an idiot. Except the whole chauvinistic idea of ever thinking you could feel possessive of me, of course."

"Of course," Damon acknowledged, rolling his eyes and thinking the complete opposite. His mind began reeling again on a topic that had been of much concern to him lately; the chances of ever having more than a friendship underlined with weird sexual tensions with Addie. He could feel her attraction and he sensed it was stronger than what she had admitted to. Running a hand over his face, he wished for what must have been the hundredth time that she was ready and willing to give him an at least semi-serious chance.

"Stop it," Addie ordered, interrupting his chain of thought.

"What?"

She sighed softly and looked up at him, understanding in her beautiful cerulean eyes that he could drown in. "I can practically hear you thinking. It kind of makes it hard to sleep. What's about to drive you to an aneurysm?"

He shook his head, "It's already been talked to death. I shouldn't even be thinking about it."

"But obviously you are so it's apparently important to you," she insisted, cupping his face and rubbing her thumb against the scruff that had grown there over the previous day and night.

"It is," he whispered, placing his hand over hers, "however, it is _not_ as important as us, in this bed, right now, about to back to sleep because you woke us at an hour that shouldn't even exist."

Addie frowned at him, "Yesterday, yesterday you shared things-"

"Yesterday was yesterday and today is today. Today, I don't want to talk about something that I already know all the answers about and is going to leave us both upset," he stopped her, pulling her hand off his face, dropping it somewhere on his stomach.

She looked at him coldly, "If it involves me then I have a right to know."

"No, you don't," he gritted out. "You already know and you don't need to worry about it. You're comfortable and happy, which is all that matters. I'm just being obsessive and pouty."

"You don't know that. You can't just assume things about me," Addie objected.

Damon shook his head, "You're happy with how things are between us, right?"

She shrugged, "I mean somethings are definitely weird between us but I don't exactly think we're in a place where we can work those things out right now. For right now, I'm happy. But you aren't, are you?"

"I'm fine, Ads. Go to sleep," he said firmly, closing his eyes and making it clear the topic was obviously not up for discussion.

Turning her head, she lightly kissed Damon on the chest, where her head rest. "I'm sorry," she murmured, laying her head down and closing her eyes.

* * *

Feeling her pillow move, Addie was startled awake.

"Someone's here," Damon frown pulling away from her and was dressed in a pair of black jeans and long-sleeved grey t-shirt.

Addie shook her head, "Still don't understand how your pants don't rip moving that fast." She froze when she heard the knock again. Three quick raps, two slow knocks, and finally two fast raps. "It's Jeremy," she hissed, climb out of bed and scrambling for her backpack with clothes.

"Better go see what he wants before he breaks down the door, thinking I'm violating his sister," muttered Damon as he slipped out the room and closed the door behind him, He still felt half-asleep; it was only nine o'clock. Did these kids just not understand the concept of a lie in? Weren't teenagers suppose to sleep until three in the afternoon. He opened the door and stared at Jeremy blanky.

"I need to talk to you," Jeremy said.

Damon rolled his eyes, "And why do I need to talk to you?"

Damon made to close the door but Jeremy quickly pushed himself against it. Quickly, he informed, "Tyler Lockwood has to kill someone to activate his curse. He's not a werewolf yet."

"Wow, fascinating. Not enough," Damon replied flatly, making to shut the door again.

Jeremy raised his arm and pushed at the door again and threatening said, "I'm covering for the fact that my _baby sister_ has spent the past two nights here. If you care for that to continue now or at any point in the future, I suggest hearing what I have to say.

"Is that Jeremy?" Addie asked in a convincingly surprised voice as she appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She'd pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a yellow button up that looked like it was tailored for her; both choices were courtesy of Katherine. She felt guilty for thinking it but she kinda wanted Damon to stare at _something_.

"He was just threatening me," Damon said coolly, opening the door to let the little punk in.

Addie hugged her brother, who gave her a one arm hug back, the other arm busy keeping his heavy backpack up. She grinned admiringly at him, "I threaten him all the time. Usually doesn't work. Kudos to you if you made him listen."

Damon let the heavy door shut with a bang. "He didn't," he spoke loudly, walking to the living room.

Addie rolled her eyes, "Did he?" Jeremy nodded, "Nice. Anyways, what's up? Why are you here? Not that it's not good to see you or anything but last I knew you were going to kill Damon and then changed your mind because of some deep philosophical reason about Dad and Uncle John and standing for something versus black and white versus oh, I honestly don't remember. They had me on way too much anxiety medication in the hospital for me to remember every little detail."

"In the past for now. Of course if he hurts me or someone I love," he said pointedly, "I'm killing him."

"I'll help."

"I'm here to talk werewolves and rocks," Jeremy informed her, following her into the living room.

Addie sat on the couch and looked at her brother hard, "I swear I'm the only one of us who doesn't have a wish to die by running of and chasing after supernatural creatures. I vote we talk rocks. Remember that quartz coffee table Grandma Beth had? I want one."

Jeremy plopped himself next to her and waved his hand in front of her face, "You're forgetting, I have a fancy magic ring."

"And you're the biggest idiot in the world if you think that makes you invincible," Addie snapped harshly at her brother. "So, I suggest you get your head out your ass and stop walking around like it does. Otherwise, I swear I will rip that ring from your hand so you can remember that you are still just human. Hell, I will go straight up Gollum on you and bite your finger off if I have to."

Jeremy looked at her warily, "I think maybe you should cut off the caffeine for the rest of the day."

"Oh, no, this isn't caffeine driven. The is simply me explaining to you that you're a freaking idiot to be sitting in a vampire's living room wanting to talk about hunting down werewolves together," Addie grinned mockingly sweet.

"I'm not the one stupid enough to sleep -"

"Hold up!" Addie interjected, clasping her hand over Jeremy's mouth. "Let's get one thing straight: Damon and I are not sleeping together. That's your other sister who is sleeping with the blood addict, while she is a living, breathing blood bag. And let me remind you that you slept with Ana who was originally conning you and planning on letting her mom suck the life out of you. From where I stand, it looks like I remain the smart one in the family until one of you two prove otherwise."

Damon yawned, interrupting their bickering, "If I wanted to see teenagers fight, I could have turned on the TV. And it wouldn't have even had to be before noon. What can you tell me that I don't already know or your sister hasn't already told me, Boy-Wonder?

Jeremy looked at his sister superiorly; he had won the fight. Addie scoffed; she had obviously had the last word, making her the winner. Jeremy rolled his eyes and turned to Damon.

"Mason Lockwood is a werewolf and he's looking for a moonstone, a special rock connected to the werewolf legend. That's why he's here," Jeremy shrugged.

Damon shook his head, "Nothing your sister hasn't already told me." He could see Jeremy about to make a comment to Addie. "Stay on topic, please. I have things to do."

Jeremy grinned, "I know where it is. Tyler Lockwood has it."

Addie put he face in her hands, "Idiot!"

Damon couldn't help but agree with Addie. Katherine had made it clear for them to stop digging about the werewolves, even making a direct comment to Stefan. If the only werewolf in town was looking for a moonstone, Damon would bet Katherine was involved, or at least somehow tied to him.

"And you're bringing me this why?" Damon asked boredly.

He watched Jeremy look at his sister for a moment and the fierce protectiveness he felt for her was clear on his face. Jeremy turned back to Damon and smirked, "You mean besides the fact that it pisses my sister off and I just get a kick out of doing that?" He shrugged, "I just want to help, ok?"

"And what does your other sister say about this little discovery?" He could tell Jeremy's guilt by his silence. "Oh, you haven't told her, have you?"

"Well, Elena doesn't want me getting involved in all this."

"Exactly," Addie muttered her face still in her hands, "'Addie, come befriend my vampire boyfriend and his crazy brother. Oh but when Jeremy finds out we're going to erase his memory.' Why didn't she drag you down the fucking rabbit hole and into Wonderland, instead of me in the first place? Just consider yourself lucky and get up and leave."

Jeremy crossed his arms, "Why don't you do that, Addie?"

"Oh, I tried to climb out of the damn rabbit hole," she snapped. "But I just kept getting pulled back down and now I'm stuck here without a fancy little ring and it's a full scale war."

Damon threw up his hands in frustration, "I thought you two got along and Addie and Elena were the ones who fought. This is worse than what I've ever seen between you and your sister! Do I need to send you both to timeout in opposite corners or something?"

"Sorry," Jeremy apologized hautily, "Addison will fight with anything that will fight back. I shouldn't be indulging her."

Addie rolled her eyes, "I swear not only your words but your actual voice sounded like Elena just now."

Damon ignored them and went upstairs.

"I'm not the one starting to turn into her," Jeremy muttered.

Addie shook her head, "I don't know what you're talking about." She walked off into the kitchen and pushed the button to start the coffee maker. She was definitely not in the mood to deal with a prissy Jeremy today. Back in Damon's room she found him brushing his teeth. Addie had unplugged her phone from the charger and was about to leave when he finished.

"Wait," Damon started, when he came out of the bathroom and saw her almost at the door.

He could see her shoulders tense as she stopped but didn't turn around. Her voice pinched, she demanded, "What, Damon?"

"That's exactly what I want to know," he said firmly, turning her to face him. Seeing the sparkle of tears in her eyes and the tip of her nose bright red, he pulled her in for a hug. He was relieved when she squeezed him back hard; he hadn't been sure if she was that angry with him or not. Stroking her hair he gently asked, "What's going on, Ads?"

Damon felt her take in a deep, shuddering breath and attempt to pull him closer but that wasn't really possible without sliding a leg between hers. Instead, he backed them up to the edge of the bed and spread his legs so she could stand between them. She wasted no time in closing as much space as possible between them. She'd never been so _clingy_; it made him uneasy to see her like this.

"Ads, you're starting to make me nervous," he said softly. She didn't answer, only held him tighter, He held her for a long time, squeezing harder every time she would take in a deep, rattling breath. He frowned when there was a knocking at the door, "That's Ric. He's brought over research to help us figure out what a person does with a moonstone. I have to at least get him and Jeremy setup, do you want to come with me?" He decided to take her vigorous shaking of the head as progress; it was the most reaction he had got. "Ok," he responded gently, having to practically pry himself apart from her. "I promise I will be back up here as soon as I can," he smiled slightly, picking her up and sitting her on his side of the bed, He dropped a kiss to her forehead before leaving.

It took Damon about 15 minutes to make sure Jeremy and Ric were well on their way in their attempt to learn more about the moonstone. He had noticed that Addie had turned the coffee maker on, so he fixed her a cup and reheated it. His feet in the doorway of the living, little Boy Wonder called out to him.

"Where are you going? Aren't you suppose to be helping? Besides, where is my sister?" Jeremy asked sharply.

Damon looked at him, his clear blue eyes as cold as ice, "I'm going where I was before - back upstairs to figure out why, after leaving you two alone for five minutes, she's been trying not to break down crying. Want to help me out and tell me what happened?"

"Nothing!" Jeremy cried out defensively "The only thing that we said after your left was that I told her she was turning into Elena and she said she didn't know what I was talking about."

Damon shook his head in frustration, "You fight with your sister but you don't tell her she's turning into someone she practically hates! That's definitely hitting below the belt."

"He's right," Ric interjected, his eyes still focused on a book. "Women will come up with every worse case scenario about how they may be like someone else. They will take your words and stretch them as much as possible."

Damon nodded in agreement, "Listen to the words of the man whose wife ran off to become a vampire." He was ascending the stairs before either Ric or Jeremy could say anything back. He knocked lightly on his own bedroom door and waited for a response.

It didn't surprise him that Addie didn't answer. Instead he opened the door gently and stuck his head in before slipping his entire body in behind him and closing the door again. She hadn't moved from where he had left her, the only difference was the few tears that rolled down her cheeks. He felt an immediate pang of guilt when he saw that she was crying. After setting the coffee down on the nightstand, Damon sat close to Addie, wrapping his arms around her.

Grateful the Damon was back, she tried again to hug him as close as possible but it was still far less contact than be before. She let out a little gasp of surprise when she felt Damon lift her into his lap, so that she was sitting sideways. She buried her face in the crook of his neck as she felt his arms holding her tightly from the small of her back. He raise his arms away from his body slightly when he felt her trying to slip her hands just under his ribcage. She wrapped her arms around his chest and pressed herself against him.

"Jeremy told me what he said," Damon spoke softly, sliding one hand under her blouse and rubbing soft,.

Her words came out choked and muffled against his neck, "I don't care about that. Haven't you connected the moonstone to Katherine?"

"I've considered it," he acknowledged after a brief hesitation. "I'm about 85% to 90% sure that she is connected to Mason Lockwood. I'm not certain about her using him to get the moonstone because I still have no idea what it does but it wouldn't be the first time Katherine had someone do her dirty work for her. When she fooled Stefan into thinking vervain had worked on her, she told him the story of how she managed to escape the fire. Her bargaining chip was a moonstone with a Lockwood. That a werewolf let her fake her death for a rock must make it pretty important. I wouldn't be surprised if she had come to get it back using an idiot minion if she wanted or needed that kind of leverage again. Of course, it's all conjecture. She could have nothing to do with the moonstone and is just coincidence."

A few tears had spilled onto Damon's shoulder as he talked.

"And the rate of coincidences in this town is…" she trailed off, not needing to point out that it was essentially nonexistent for Damon to understand. She pulled back and looked into his sky blue eyes, tears falling faster from her own. "I _have_ to tell her about this, Damon. She made it clear that she wanted the digging into the werewolf stuff to stop. I was suppose to distract you which was suppose to distract everyone from wondering what she was up to. I can protect Stefan and Elena because they're fake fighting and not actually poking at this werewolf crap. I can do my best to protect you and say you weren't interested in it anymore until Jeremy brought you the information about the moonstone and him know where it is. The one person I can't protect though, is him. I have no defense for Jeremy. Do you know where that puts him on Katherine's hitlist? If I don't tell her, I'm not doing what I'm suppose to be doing and I think that may as well mark me as useless in her book, making me a loose end she needs to tie up. I'm damned if I tell her and damned if I don't."

Damon wiped at the tears before letting his hand weave through the hair on the back of her head. Her look was so exposed and raw and vulnerable. It took everything in him to not lean just the few inches into her and try to kiss her pain away. Looking at her, that was the only solution he could think of because, really, she was right. He understood why she didn't want Jeremy involved in all of this, why she had been fighting with him. Gently, he guided her head back to his shoulder.

"There is a way to protect Jeremy. A way for both of you to be safe in this mess," he insisted, more to himself than to her. "Just give me a second to think."

Addie rested against him, gaining comfort from his solidarity and just knowing that he was there for her. His slight scent of of nutmeg and sandalwood were reassuring. He was on her side to help her through all of this. Her arms reflexively held him tighter as she thought of how this was completely against his nature. She knew he wanted to just take off and go find the moonstone; he wasn't one to sit and plan things out but more took the problems as they came. It was several minutes before he spoke.

"You're not going to like it but I have an idea. I need to take Mason out before he exposes me to the whole council. It's inevitable; he already had Liz try and kill me and Stefan. Katherine is stupid if she thinks I'm just going to let that dog run around. One thing Katherine Pierce is not is stupid. She knows that not even you could distract me from something like that. However, it might be that my killing her pet is enough to piss her off and keep her away from Jeremy. We don't know exactly where the stone is, just who has it. All the members of Founding Families are on vervain; we can't just walk up to Tyler Lockwood and tell him to hand it over. It will take time for us to get the stone; time that Katherine won't have because Mason won't be around to sniff it out. She'll be pretty pissed off at me for killing him before getting what she wants. Her mind will be on how she's gonna get to the stone now and getting back at me," Damon became more convinced that his plan would work the longer he talk.

"I don't exactly want you on Katherine's hitlist, either," Addie confessed.

Damon kissed her forehead and rationalized, "It's the best option of a bad situation. I can handle her."

There was a quick knock at the door and without waiting for a response, Jeremy stuck his head in the room He was excited, saying "Hey, we found - Oh!" He caught sight of his baby sister in Damon's lap, wrapped up in his arms. He muttered a quick apology and jerked his head back out, firmly closing the door behind him. That was a sight he could have gone the rest of his life without seeing.

He heard his sister call out, "You can come in, Jer."

He hesitated for a moment before opening the door. Grateful didn't begin to cover how he felt when he saw Addie standing a few feet away from Damon. A quick look at her told him that she had been crying. He walked over to her quickly and pulled her into a big hug. He profusely apologized, "I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry, Addie. I never should have said what I did. You and Elena are so completely different. You have no idea how happy I am about that. I love you both but it would really suck if I didn't have you around so I can beat you at video games. It's just that Elena harps on me to stay out of this stuff too. I know you both do it because you love me and don't want me to get hurt but if I got on your case about everything you did that I thought was going to get you hurt, well, neither one of us would actually have time for a life. I want to protect you from everything, just like you want to protect me. Sometimes, we just have to let each other fall flat on our faces and learn the hard way. We both tend to have a problem listening."

Addie pulled away from him with a small smile, "Will you just shut up? I'm over it. Save the sappy, emotional apologizes for Elena."

Jeremy nodded, grinning at his sister before turning to Damon, "We found out the moonstone is linked to the sun and moon curse. The part that binds werewolves so the can only turn with a full moon is sealed with a moonstone. Mason probably thinks he can use it to reverse that part of the curse."

"Can you get the stone from mini Lockwood?" Damon asked after a moment.

Jeremy shrugged, "Yeah, shouldn't be a big deal."

"The off to the Lockwood Manor," Damon said heroically, standing up. "We have a masquerade ball to set up for."

"You guys have fun," Addie said, grabbing her phone off the bed and leading them out the door. "I prefer to go mining for my rocks rather than dealing with werewolves and werewolves in training." She turned into the the living room. "Hey, Mr. Saltzman," she greeted coolly, taking a seat on the couch.

He waved at her, "I've told you that you can call me Alaric outside of school."

Addie nodded, "I know but you still tried to kill me; I haven't exactly moved on to the first name basis stage yet."

"Again I apologize for that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Mmm, well, it's not entirely your fault. Damon does have the effect of making people feel homicidal," Addie concurred.

Damon looked taken aback, "I do not. I have never been so insulted. Come on, Ric, we have business to attend to. We don't have to sit here and take this!"

"Oh, that's right. You're usually the one that gets homicidal. Should really work on some anger management," she smirked at Damon as he ushered the two guys out the living room. She watched him watching them.

"You guys go on out. I have to grab some supplies," he said mysteriously. He waited until the door latched behind them before walking over to Addie. Grabbing her hand he pulled her to her feet and turned her towards the kitchen. "In there," he said, giving her a shooing motion.

She looked at Damon puzzled and walked hesitantly into the kitchen. Was this some kind of trap that he was up too? She became a little less wary when he strode past her and turned the faucet on, looking at her expectantly. "Your plan involves running the tap?" she asked befuddled, leaning against the kitchen counter, next to the sink.

"No," Damon mocked, coming to stand very close in front of her. "There's another vampire in hearing range. Caroline's in the cellar with Liz," he spoke quiet and quick. He grabbed her upper arms gently and squeezed, making her look up into his face. "You don't worry. Just contact her and tell her I had completely dropped the subject until your brother, someone you're not responsible for in her plan so she can't get mad at you, told me that he knew Mason was looking for a moonstone and he knew who had it, which you only know the answer to if she asks. I decided I wanted to go after the stone simply because Mason wanted it and I was itching to have a go at him for exposing Stefan, Caroline, and me to the sheriff. Make sure you include Caroline; Katherine has been using her to spy on Stefan and Elena. She should keep better track of her minions not interfering with one another.

"Addie, I don't want you to be here when I get back. You should probably go home. Don't start with the buts. I don't know how this thing with Mason Lockwood is going to go down but if I end up having to bring him back here, you shouldn't be here," he instructed firmly.

"Why…" she trailed off realizing Damon's intent. "Damon, no. Can't we just see what information I can get from Katherine?"

Damon shook his head, "You know as well as I do that she's not going to tell you her plan. Just contact her and go home. You don't want to be a part of this supernatural stuff. Here's a big part of it and I just need you to walk away. To go back home. Don't try and be some kind of hero. Your heroism stops at protecting your friends and family." Addie glared at him cold and hard. His next words came out through gritted teeth, "Don't think that you being here is going to change how I act, Addie. A job needs to be done and I'm getting it done whether you are here or not. For your sake, don't be here."

She continued to stare at him, her eyes cold. Reaching out to her side she shut of the faucet; without the sound of the water; this conversation was officially over. Damon took a last look at her before turning his back and stalking out of the kitchen. Addie pushed herself off the counter when she heard the front door slam shut. This was exactly why she doing this; she needed these cruel vampires out of her family's life. That was exactly what she needed from Damon; a reminder of who he really was. Pulling her phone from her pocket she walked back into the livingroom, sat down and began to compose a text to Katherine.

_Addie: Damon's gone insane. I had him convinced to leave werewolves and Lockwoods alone. I even had him agreeing not to seek revenge against Mason Lockwood for turning in him, Stefan, and Caroline into the sheriff, who basically almost killed all of them but luckily she hesitated about shooting her own daughter. However, when my brother showed up saying Mason was after some rock and he knew where it was, which he learned from Mason's nephew, Damon when all nuts. I tried to convince him every way I could for him to let it go but once he found out Mason had a reason for being here and that he was a wolf, again information my brother learned from Mason's nephew, he became hell bent on getting the rock and killing Mason. He just learned this hours ago and he's already headed off to the Lockwood estate._

Addie jumped when her phone buzzed in her hand almost instantly.

**Kathy: You didn't know your brother knew about Mason Lockwood being a wolf and searching for a stone and who has it?**

Addie bit her lip, thinking how she would get Jeremy out of this.

_Addie: Not until he came banging on the door this morning, waking Damon and me. He learned it all from Mason's nephew, who I didn't even know he was close to. Last I knew Jeremy was going after the guy with a broken beer bottle._

She didn't receive a response right away. Trembling, her hand ran through her hair. The longer she waited the more frequently she did this. A rapping at the door sent her almost reeling out of her skin. Taking a deep breath she walked to the front door and looked out the peephole. She sighed in relief; it was just Elena. No, Elena would have had to undergo an extreme makeover to look like that. She stepped back from the door. Addie wasn't sure what she found scarier: that she was so anxious she was confusing Katherine for her sister or that said vampire was just on the other side of the door. She cracked the entrance open slightly and quickly raised a finger to her lips. Katherine crossed her arms in front of her. Addie slid out the small gap and shut the door silently behind her. Shoving her hands in her back pockets, she walked down to the porch steps; if she learned anything from Katherine, it was to fake the confidence even if you didn't have it.

"Caroline is down in the cellar with her mother," Addie explained coolly, turning towards Katherine.

Katherine nodded slowly, walking down towards Addie, appraising her. She scoffed, "And to think I actually believed you could handle Damon Salvatore."

"What should I have done, Katherine?" Addie snapped, not in a mood to play with vampires. "Did you want me to use my superhuman strength to tie him down and stop him? Tell him he couldn't do it because you said 'stay away from the wolves'? We both know reminding him of that would just make him more determine _and_ make him think you have something to do with Mason Lockwood and why he wants a stupid rock. If he starts thinking you're up to something, well, I haven't been the one he pined for over 145 years who he now wants revenge against; I can't distract him from his obsession with you."

Katherine rolled her eyes, "Fair enough. You should have been keeping a better eye on your brother."

"Oh, you know, I meant to do that," Addie sarcastically epiphanized, "but with all the one-on-one time I'm suppose to be having with Damon and you know, kind of being stuck in the house with him for at least 24 hours after his magical vampire blood saves me from him almost bleeding me to death which turns him into a paranoid freak because he thinks I'm going to fall down the stairs, die, and become a vampire, I've been a little too busy to baby sit Jeremy. My brother covering my ass happens to be the only reason I'm able to spend time with Damon because, really, after seeing him kiss my sister, aka you, my aunt is very against the idea of me being around Damon. Thank you for that, by the way. Not to mention Damon, himself, had to be constantly entertained to keep him from digging through a bunch of werewolf research he brought back from Duke _and _wondering what you were up to. So, for being only human and not as good as you at manipulating and controlling Damon and only having two eyes and 24 hours in a day to keep track of if Damon, Elena, and Stefan are snooping around about you and what you're really doing here, since none of them are buying that you just want Stefan back, I am sorry. I am sorry I cannot live up to your perfect expectations!"

"You've had too much coffee," Katherine grinned, pointing a lazy finger at Addie.

"And that! Why does everyone keep thinking that today?!"

Katherine raised a single eyebrow, "Probably because you're acting more explosive than Damon."

Addie gritted her teeth, "What can I say? He's rubbing off on me."

"You are really in a mood today," snickered Katherine.

"Sorry, Damon involving my brother in a murder plan has me a bit edge," Addie emphasized.

Katherine frowned and paced out to where Addie had walked down the driveway during her rant, "Yeah, about that. I have a few questions. Damon's definitely killing Mason?"

She nodded, running her fingers through her hair, "That's of course assuming Mason doesn't outsmart him again or something. He'll be at the Lockwood estate so Stefan will probably help him; two against one."

"First the mayor and now Mason? Sucks for the Lockwoods," Katherine frowned, poorly feigning sympathy. "Is his nephew a werewolf?"

"Thankfully no. He should be safe," Addie concluded.

Katherine shrugged, "I don't know. If Damon is as out of control as you say, he might just make a preemptive strike. Wouldn't be the first time he's killed someone innocent."

"I know," Addie sniffed, "that's kind of why I want him out of here. Which is when?"

"When I've finished what I've come here to do. This rock Damon wants, who is he gonna rough up or compel for it?" Katherine demanded.

"Well, he won't be able to compel it from him since he's on vervain as a Founding Family member but he's trying to get it from Mason's nephew, Tyler Lockwood. He plans on having my brother get it since they're so close," Addie huffed in true annoyance.

Katherine's lips pursed, "Then you're going to take if from whichever goon has it. It wouldn't surprise me if your brother refused to give the moonstone to Damon."

"What the hell is a moonstone and why am I stealing? Especially, why am I stealing from Damon when I need him to trust me? I'm suppose to be convincing him to fall in love with me, no? Or have the plans changed without me being notified?" Addie asked, bending down to retire the undone lace of her yellow Converse.

"Its an elliptical, smooth stone. It's smoky clear, with lighter and darker striations running through it in straight lines. Very pretty. Very valuable. You're stealing it because I need it for a ritual. Without that stone, you're stuck with Damon," Katherine said slowly.

Addie rolled her eyes. "You need a moonstone, a freaking rock. Why not just buy one on eBay? It would be a hell of a lot easier."

"You don't understand. I need four specific ingredients to finish my plan. This _was _the last one I needed but now it seems like it might take me a bit to get the other one again," the vampire muttered bitterly. "I need this particular moonstone because it's already magical," clarified Katherine.

Addie scoffed, "My life could not get weirder. Ok, Katherine, I will try and steal a magical rock from the vampire I'm trying to make fall in love with me so I can keep him distracted from whatever plans a vampire that looks exactly like my sister has all so I can get said vampires out of my life."

"Add keeping your brother on a leash to that list," commented Katherine, inspecting her nails.

"Right," Addie muttered, giving Katherine a thumbs up.

Katherine looked at the younger girl and sighed, "I'm getting the sense that you're feeling overwhelmed."

"Not at all, Katherine," Addie mumbled, sitting on the porch step.

"Look, I don't do the big sister thing but-"

"Oh, don't worry, I've come to not expect that from your face," Addie smiled up at Katherine.

Katherine rolled her eyes, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "You've screwed up. I'm very unhappy. I haven't killed you. I'm trying to be nice. This is as close as I get to the big sister act."

"Thanks," Addie muttered, propping an elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand, "that's better than how my actual sister treats me most of the time."

"Just focus on keeping Damon distracted. I don't want him asking questions about the moonstone. Bring me the stone. Keep Damon interested in you. He should be satisfied having the stone and Mason dead. You should have his sole interest; it should be simple," Katherine said neutrally, trying not to put the girl under any more pressure but also still wanting to be able to make progress in her plans.

Addie looked up at Katherine; it wasn't like her to not bark or demand orders. She actually was being _nice_, or at least as nice as she probably knew how to be. Addie rubbed the muscles at her neck; all these vampires were making her tense. "Ok," she acknowledged, looking back down at her feet.

"Good," Addie heard Katherine reply but by the time she looked up, the vampire was gone.

Addie scooped up a rock from the ground and stood up. Wrenching her arm behind her, she let the stone fly in a long, high arch into the trees. The sound of the pebble falling through bushes and leaves echoed faintly around the house. Frowning, Addie went back inside. Grabbing the ancient, first edition of _Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque_ from the coffee table, she dropped heavily onto a couch. She hadn't been lying when she told Jenna she was interested in visiting the boarding house because of the works by Edgar Allen Poe that were there; they just hadn't been the main attraction as she suggested. Gingerly opening the book, Addie began to read, intent on waiting for Damon.

* * *

"I thought I told you to go home," came Damon's voice, clearly irritated.

Addie looked up slowly from the book, having been so absorbed she hadn't heard the door. An unconscious body was slung from over Damon's shoulder and into a chair the vampire had pulled in front of the fireplace. As she opened her mouth for a smart retort, the last person Addie expected rounded the doorframe and into the living room.

"Here's his bag, as requested," Bonnie snipped at Damon, dropping the duffel bag next to Mason Lockwood. Her attention, however, was focused on Addie, looking at her in a most disapproving way.

Addie bit her lip and offered the witch a small, apologetic smile. She knew Bonnie would disapprove of her consorting with Damon, which is why she had been avoiding her best friend's calls and text ever since she was in the hospital, or just out sick for a week as far as Bonnie knew. She shrugged and tried to explain away her presence at the older girl's questioning glare, "It's either Jenna breathing down my neck or Damon breathing down my neck."

Damon snorted, rising up from placing a sheet under the chair holding Mason. "Yeah. It's just plain weird if your aunt does it," Damon smirked as he found himself standing behind Addie. He bent down until his mouth was just below her ear, his breath flowing warm over her neck as he spoke, "But when I do it…"

Flushing scarlet at Damon's actions and Bonnie's incredulous look, Addie shoved her hand in his face. "God! That's not - do you have any idea how disgusting you are?"

"Right, sorry," Damon grinned, walking back towards the werewolf, "forgot the no PDA rule. Hey!" Rubbing the back of his head, Damon looked up from digging in the duffel bag.

"I'm so sorry," Addie let out in a mock horrified voiced, her hand covering her gaping mouth. She partially was stunned by her actions and wanted to do nothing more than run to him and grab the book at his feet; her annoyance at him had made her forget that she was handling a delicate 180-year-old copy of the great Edgar Allen Poe's work. Trying to cover her blunder, she continued innocently, "I really did forget the 'no throwing things at idiots' rule."

"Pain in the ass," Damon muttered.

Addie scoffed, "Pot to kettle! Wasn't roping my brother into your stupid plan enough? You _had_ to go and drag Bonnie into your world of idiocy?"

"Yep," Damon replied, pulling out chains and locks from Mason's bag. He held them up for inspection, "Whoa. Looks like he's use to being tied down. She saw Mason with Katherine when she touched him."

"We already knew that was a possibility! That does not mean you bring more people into the stupid plan. If we _know _Katherine is involved, that means the fewer people that should be involved in all of this, Damon," Addie snapped, her voice rising.

Damon rolled his eyes, "If your brother hadn't been utterly useless, we wouldn't need a witch. Now, one of you be useful and grab that corner and help me spread this sheet. Otherwise I'll just have to round up another person for my brilliant plan."

Bonnie helped Damon stretch out the fabric as she warily asked, "Why are we doing this?"

"To protect his precious carpet," Addie answered, sneering at the vampire.

Bonnie sighed, "How did I know it was something like that?"

"Judging again," Damon smirked pointedly.

Addie crossed her arms, "He's Damon the self-serving psychopath, of course the answer would be something stupid, shallow, and blood related."

"Technically, you didn't directly relate it to blood. You're leaving it implied so… I mean, really, I could be concerned about poor Mason becoming violently ill on my carpet. That has absolutely nothing to do with blood," Damon countered.

Addie shook her head, looking at him in disgust, "Do you even have a point? I mean, other than trying to piss me off?"

"Oh but you make it so easy," Damon grinned.

Bonnie interjected before Addie could open her mouth, "He's not going to be out much longer."

"Ok," Damon said, turning to the witch, "can you touch him again and try and help us find the moonstone?"

Bonnie nodded and took Mason's head in between her hands. Damon began to unravel the chains so he could use them.

"Jeremy didn't get it from Tyler?" Addie asked Damon slowly.

Damon scowled, "No. I told you that he was utterly useless. Tyler had already given the stone to Mason. Witch, find out if he gave it to Katherine. And find out where she is. And find out what they're gonna do with it once they get it."

"Oh, and in case Damon hasn't already asked for enough, why don't you also get tonight's lotto numbers, too?" Addie asked Bonnie sarcastically.

Bonnie kept her eyes closed and focused on the moonstone as she touched Mason's head. It was hard to concentrate with Addie and Damon talking but telling them to shut it would just distract her more. Slowly, images began to form in her mind. "Somewhere small, dark. There's water."

"Like a sewer?" Damon postulated in disgust.

"No," Bonnie sensed, "like a well. That can't be right. Yeah. It's a well."

Damon frowned, "Why would it be in a well?"

Bonnie dropped her hands from Mason, unable to get an idea of where the well was or what it looked like. "I told you, I only get what I get. I don't get to ask questions."

Addie jumped in her seat as Mason grunted and grabbed at Bonnie's wrist. Bonnie tried to pull out of Mason's grasp but he was too strong, it took Damon breaking his hold to free her.

"That's it. That's all I got," Bonnie said firmly, starting out of the room.

"Hey, judgey!" Damon called after her. "Thank you," he acknowledged when she turned back to him.

Addie scrambled off the couch and after Bonnie, realizing she was left with Damon glaring at her. She knew what he was going to start about and she really didn't feel like arguing about it with him. Besides, if she was right, she might have just figured out where the moonstone was.

"Hey!" Addie said, once she was in the hall.

Bonnie, almost at the door, turned around and looked at her hard. "You know, it was enough losing Caroline when she turned. Your sister makes it pretty clear where she stands in the whole vampire situation. I didn't think you'd betray me, Addie."

"I'm not, Bon," Addie said softly. "It's not an 'us versus them' thing!"

"Yes, it is," Bonnie insisted, looking at Addie in disbelief. "You know what they do."

Addie nodded slowly, "I do but I also know that, or at least I think that they can fight that part of their nature. Or maybe that's just what I hope. I have to think of them possible of compassion and regret."

Bonnie frowned and shook her head, "You're setting yourself up for disappointment, Addie. Damon is not -"

"Damon has nothing to do with it," Addie interrupted. "Trust me, I realize how screwed up he is. Damon may not be capable of compassion and regret but he's not who I'm talking about. I mean Caroline. She didn't ask for this. While I'm not saying that killing that man at the carnival is excusable, she didn't know what she was going through. I see how hard she is working now to control that urge and I have to believe she can and that the remorse she shows is genuine if I want to keep her as a friend. I don't see how it's fair to her to lose my friendship if she does feel bad and she isn't hurting people. I mean, becoming a vampire hasn't exactly been winning homecoming for Caroline."

Bonnie was about to respond when the aforementioned blonde appeared at the top of the stairways leading to the basement.

"Hey!" Caroline greeted Bonnie.

"Hi," Bonnie responded after a moment's hesitation. "How's your mom? Elena filled me in on everything."

Caroline beamed, grateful Bonnie was talking to her, "I'm gonna take her home tonight."

"Caroline," Bonnie started but then stalled. "Nevermind. I've got to go."

"Did you find the moonstone thing?" Caroline rushed out, eager for something to stop Bonnie from leaving.

"Not yet," the witch sighed.

Addie smacked her head, remembering why she had come after Bonnie, "Do you guys remember that old well where we used to play when we were kids?"

"Yeah," Caroline nodded, looking confused at the random question.

Bonnie looked at Addie, realization dawning on her. "I just remember that it's in the woods."

"It's on the edge of the Lockwood property," Caroline provided. "Why do you bring it up?"

"I think that's where Mason is keeping the moonstone," said Addie, turning to Bonnie for confirmation on the idea.

Bonnie pulled out her phone and began to text Stefan, "I agree. I got to go."

"Well, I can come with you," Caroline jumped quickly.

"No, it's ok," Bonnie reacted. Addie gave her a disappointed look, making Bonnie feel guilty. "Sure," she amended. "Addie?" she said, looking at her younger friend hopefully; she really didn't want to be alone with Caroline.

Addie winced and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, "I actually really do have something I need to discuss with Damon."

Bonnie looked at her skeptically, "Alright."

"Honest, I do," Addie insisted.

"Ok," Bonnie agreed but Addie could see she still didn't believe her. "Let's go, Caroline."

After watching them leave, Addie headed up to Damon's room to once again wait for him.

* * *

Addie flinched as another howl of pain floated up from the floor below. It had felt as if this had been going on for hours; Mason would scream and Addie would hope, that _finally, _this time would be the last cry she heard. With each passing minute she would become more and more certain that Damon was done torturing the poor guy only to hear Mason yell out again. Compassion really was a foreign concept to the vampire.

Noting ten minutes of silence, the longest stretch of silence yet, Addie tried not to get her hopes up. Laid out in Damon's bed, she buried her face further into her pillow. Her pillow, it was starting to smell like her cucumber melon shampoo and conditioner and less like his fresh and mild soap, which was how all the other pillows smelled. And there was her side and his side of the bed. It was unsettling how quickly she had found herself comfortable in his bed. Nothing should have been comfortable about sharing a bed with Damon.

The clicking of the door drew Addie's attention. She watched Damon enter and cross to the bathroom. His entire right hand and down his arm bright crimson blood covered his alabaster skin, including part of the cuff of his long sleeve shirt, pushed part way up his forearm. Addie swallowed hard, fighting back a sudden wave of nausea. She could see the water running off a vibrant red when he stuck his hands in the sink.

"Looks like you made a mess," Addie's words were chilly as Damon came out of the bathroom, the blood cleaned from his skin.

"Surprisingly, not really. I just misjudged how deep his chest cavity would be when I went to rip his heart out," he lips twitched in distaste, holding up his right arm where the cuff of his shirt was still covered in blood.

Addie's eyes drifted back to the ceiling, uncomfortable looking at the blood. Trying to sound nonchalant, she commented, "So, you finally killed him?"

Damon gave her a cold look. "That was the plan," he answered flatly, tugging his shirt over his head. "I told you to go home. What is it with Gilberts and not listening? You and your brother, I told you both to leave."

A chill ran down Addie's spine and her voice cracked, "Jeremy's here?"

"No," Damon answered, heading into his closet. He came out with a black button up open over his bare chest. "Your brother eventually had the sense to leave, unlike you."

"Why do you care so much if I'm here or was here or whatever?" Addie questioned, growing annoyed with the vampire.

He raised a cool, challenging eyebrow, "You expect me to believe you were comfortable hearing that?"

"You expect me to believe whether I was or wasn't actually matters to you?" Addie bit back frostily.

Damon's brow furrowed as he sat at the foot of his bed. He scoffed, shaking his head, "Is it that hard to believe? That I would care about how you feel?"

Addie propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at Damon. "Do we need to review what you just did? Damon, you are cold and heartless. You don't care about anyone but yourself."

"How do you even figure that one?" he snapped, turning to face her. "If I just cared about myself, Addie, I wouldn't even be here! The easiest and smartest thing for me to do right now would be to get the hell out of here because who knows what the hell Katherine is going to do next. She already nearly had me killed by her little lap dog. Me helping you double cross her doesn't exactly place me in an ideal position, should she find out. We needed to know what he knew and that was the only way we were going to figure it out."

Sneering at him, she spat in disgust, "Did you _really _find out anything from torturing Mason Lockwood? No! You already knew he was working with Katherine and you already knew where the stone was. You know how I know you didn't figure anything else out? Because Katherine isn't stupid! She's not going to tell what she's really up to! All you know is that whatever Mason thought Katherine was going to do with it, she's not using it for that. The smartest and easiest thing for you to do would be to leave but you won't and can't because you have an obsession with her. Working with me-"

"If Katherine is my obsession and why I'm here now, then why did I stick around through all the shit with the tomb vampires and Isobel? In case you didn't notice, they weren't exactly fans of me and would have gladly killed me. Again, it would have been in my best interest to leave then but did I? No," Damon emphasised. He crawled onto the bed, resting his weight on his elbows, one on each side of Addie's shoulders.

As he lay over her, his open shirt fell away from his chest. Addie lifted her hands and pushed them firmly, flat against his chest, causing her to lose the support of her elbows and dropping back onto her back. She glared at him and snarled, "Get off of me, Damon."

He grinned cheekily, "I'm not on you; I'm over you."

"Well, get un-over me," Addie huffed, pushing harder. She knew her strength was no match to his, though.

"So, you mean you," Damon smirked, grabbing Addie's waist and flipping her until she straddled his stomach, "want me under you."

Addie glared at him and tried to get off but his hands were firm on her waist, holding her close. Indignantly she declared, "No, Damon! I don't want to be anywhere near you."

Damon held back a growl of impatience and cupped his hand at the back of Addie's head. He felt her resisting in him but he still pulled her down until her forehead rested against his. Her eyelashes brushed against his as she shut her eyes. He sighed, slipping his hand to cup her cheek, his thumb tracing over her bottom lip. "What the hell, Ads?" he asked softly. "This morning you were practically clinging to me like your life depended on it and now you want nothing to do with me? Are you really so blind that you can't see that I care about you?" He was stunned when he felt something wet splash on his cheek. Instantly his grip on her waist slackened enough for her to move off of him if she wanted, He brushed at the second tear that leaked from her closed eyes when she drew her lip between her teeth. "Addison," he whispered soothingly, "my Ads. Please don't. Don't cry."

"Do you have any idea how horrible of a person you are? You're cruel and manipulative and a killer," she lamented. Her head had fallen so the tip of her nose rested against his cheek, leaving her lips just millimeters above his.

Damon had to resist the strong temptation to simply tilt his head back just a bit and brush her lips in a kiss. He licked at his nervously and consented, "I know."

Addie sighed and pushed her fingers into Damon's hair as dark as midnight. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared into his steely blue eyes. Again, up this close she would swear there tiny flecks of green, just like she had thought she saw on the night they had met. Addie pursed her lips, quickly undoing the motion when she felt his under hers; she hadn't realized she was so close. "Then you know how much I should hate you," she mumbled matter-of-factly.

His eyes slid closed as he took several deep breaths. Settling one hand on the small of Addie back and one behind her next, he flipped her again, making sure to rest her head on the pillow he had come to think of as hers. This time she didn't push him away. Instead, her soft hands left a trail of fire as they traced over his abs, chest and shoulders, finally interlocking behind his neck. With his weight on his forearms, he laid his head next to hers. Damon hummed as she played with the hair at the nape of his next. He felt her breast brush against his chest with each breath. This girl was going to kill him all over again. Cautiously optimistic he rasped, "I do but please tell me you don't."

"I really wish I did. I mean, caring so much for someone like you? What does that say about me?" Addie fretted, pulling Damon closer to bury her face in the crook of his neck.

He kissed her temple. When he first found out what Katherine was, he had to have asked himself the same question a thousand times. He'd been raised to hate vampires and Addie knew she should hate him. The only answer he could ever satisfactorily give himself was that he loved Katherine and that meant accepting her as she was. He shook his head, knowing Addie wouldn't be satisfied with the idea being in love with him, especially since she didn't believe in it. Still, he knew she had to care for him a lot. His lips brushed against her temple again, unable to give her an answer. However, he couldn't help the hope for something more with her that grew within him. They stayed like that for several minutes, until Damon heard the front door. "Stefan's home," he sighed.

"Oh!" Addie exclaimed, pushing Damon away from her. The vampire groaned, sitting up reluctantly. "Don't be such a grump," she admonished. "Bonnie and I think we figured out what well Mason was keeping the stone in. She was suppose to go tell Stefan and help get it, I think."

Damon blinked slowly, "You're telling me that the moonstone could be downstairs right now?"

Addie nodded.

"I should go check on that then," Damon grinned, standing. When Addie made to follow him, he turned around and frowned at her. "Look, Ads, you should still go home." He shook his head at the scowl she gave him and pushed the dark purple bangs out of her eyes. "I still have a dead body to deal with," he shrugged. "I'll let you know if Stefan got the moonstone."

* * *

Her hand on the doorknob, Addie looked critically at the porch swing. As long as she wasn't looking for her backpack, she couldn't tell that it was there. Jenna had thought she had been sick in her room the past two days; it wouldn't do for her to come strolling in the front door with a backpack. She would come out and get it once everyone else had gone to bed. Addie slowly opened the door and silently crept inside. Her family really needed to learn to lock the door.

"Where have you been?" Elena asked, startling her sister.

Addie looked up at her sister descending the stair and held up the mail she had grabbed as a cover-up, "Mailbox."

"Yeah," Elena drawled, coming to a stance in front of her little sister and crossing her arms. "And that took all of today, last night, yesterday, and the night before?"

Addie's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Elena rolled her eyes, "We share a bathroom. Even if you were shut up in your room sick the whole time, I still would have noticed you using the bathroom."

"Are you going to tell Jenna?" Addie grimaced.

Elena shrugged, "Depends on what you were doing. I know Jeremy's been covering for you. If he approves, it can't be that bad, meaning I probably won't tell."

Addie's lips twitched towards a frown, "You might find it a lot worse than Jeremy does but I promise it's not what you think."

"Well what is it?"

"I've been with Damon," Addie sighed.

Elena's mouth dropped open and she hissed, "What the hell is wrong with you two? Jeremy was working with him today and you spent the last two nights with him?!"

Addie grabbed at Elena's wrist as she turned towards the kitchen, "It's not like that, Elena."

"Then what exactly is it like because to me, it seems like you have a massive crush on him and his moral compass doesn't exactly point north," Elena snapped.

Addie rolled her eyes, "Was it me he was trying to kiss that night or was it you, Elena? He likes _you_. Damon's just… well, he's just a friend. He listens to my problems and…. Really, is it that bad?"

"Do you hear yourself?" Elena asked flabbergasted. "Of course it's that bad. He's using you, Addie!"

"I swear I thought the same thing!" Addie insisted. "But how? He's not asking or expecting anything of me! All he does is share with me. He opens up about his past when he wants, lets me talk about what's bothering me, otherwise we just have intelligent conversation. Elena, this has been going on for weeks and not once has he tried to pressure me into anything or asked me for help in any of his crazy schemes."

Addie caught the briefest flash of jealousy in her sister's eyes before she nodded, "Ok. Fine. I won't say anything. For now."

"Thank you," Addie sighed in relief following Elena into the kitchen.

Addie took a seat on the bench as Elena began to set out the plates. Alaric set down a lasagna and Addie git back a groan. Jenna had been with them nine months and she still made something based in tomatoes at least once a week. It wouldn't have been so bad if most tomato based dishes, like spaghetti, lasagna, and ravioli made Addie sick. There was just something about the consistency of marinara. Not to mention that Jenna always added onions, which were simply disgusting.

"Where's Jeremy?" Addie muttered.

Mr. Saltzman looked at her, almost as if he was surprised to see her there, "Oh, he went straight up to his room. He said he wasn't hungry."

Because he'd watch Mason be tortured? The sound had been enough to make Addie lose any appetite she may have had for the next week, she felt. Or had he simply seen it was a tomato based dish and bailed? Addie blamed him for her picky eating. It was all his weird issues with food that had rubbed off on her.

Elena was looking at Jenna, "Who is she talking to?"

Pestering, Addie said, "Nosy, much?"

Catching the look Elena was giving her sister, Alaric jumped in, "I don't know. Everything go okay today?"

"There were a few hiccups, but yeah.," Elena nodded.

"You got it?" Addie whispered eagerly.

Elena nodded.

Jenna was walking towards the table with the phone, "Of course, I understand. Addie, it's for you."

Addie looked warily at the phone Jenna was offering her. Everyone she talked to knew that talking on the phone made her anxious. "Who is?"

Jenna just shrugged and waved the phone in Addie's face. Reluctantly, she took it and placed it to her ear. She hesitated for the span of two heartbeats, "Hello?"

"Hey, Addie," came the cool voice of Katherine.

Addie became more confused. She looked at Mr. Saltzman and Elena, both of them looking at her questioningly. Addie got off the bench and walked a few steps into the living room.

"Katherine," she whispered.

"You know," Katherine said superciliously, "I told you to keep Damon distracted. I told you I didn't want him asking questions about the moonstone or me. With Mason dead and him having the stone it was so _easy_ for you to keep his attention. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I get a call from him, with him having put together that I want the moonstone. Don't make me feel the need to make a statement again. Now, let me talk to your sister."

Addie's grip on the phone was so hard her knuckles had turned white. She glowered, "No. You can threaten me but leave my family out of this."

"Oh, get over yourself. You let me speak to her now or I'll just have to deliver my message in person," Katherine stated simply.

Her hand trembling, Addie held out the phone to Elena. Elena raised her eyebrows at her sister. Addie just shook her head and pushed the phone into her sister's hand. Elena took the phone, frowning at her sister. The sisters switched places, with Addie heading back to the kitchen table and Elena the living room.

"Who was that?" Mr. Saltzman asked gravely.

Addie picked up a butter knife and spun it on its tip. "Katherine, the wicked bitch of east."

Addie looked up as the phone clattered against the ground. She heard Elena and Alaric yelling for Jenna. Backing out of the kitchen, Addie felt nauseous for the second time that day at the sight of blood.

* * *

"You don't - Elena, this isn't right," Addie sighed, looking out the passenger window as her sister drove down the dark roads.

Elena sniffled, "What part of having a doppelganger is right at all, Ad?"

Addie ran her hand through her hair, "Nothing but this is especially wrong. Katherine shouldn't have this much control over your life."

"Jenna's in the hospital because Stefan and I were together. If we stay together, what's to stop her from killing you or Jeremy?" Elena cried, tears pouring down her face.

The cool glass of the window felt refreshing on her throbbing head. Addie wished she had an answer for her sister but she was right. Katherine was uncontrollable and unpredictable. Personally, she thought Elena and Stefan sneaking around was a stupid idea from a start. It was just best for her to stay quiet. Elena eventually threw the gearshift into park. Stepping out of the car, Addie slung her repacked backpack onto her shoulder. Coming around the front of the car, she gave her sister a tight hug.

"For what it's worth, I'm really sorry this is happening to you. It's not fair," Addie whispered.

Elena pulled away and gave her sister a small, watery smile, "Thanks, Ad. Never thought you would be pro-Stefan."

"I'm not," Addie called over her shoulder, walking up the porch. "I'm just anti-Katherine."

Addie made to knock on the door when it opened.

"I'm so sorry, Addie. I am so, so, so, so, so, so sorry," professed Damon, pulling Addie into his arms. "I didn't think. I just didn't think."

Addie heard Elena scoff as she squeezed past them, "Totally not what I thought. You were _so_ right, Ad."

"Elena," Addie protested, pushing away from Damon, "I swear -"

Her older sister held up her hands to stop her, "I don't want to hear it. I simply don't want to hear it."

Damon watched Addie as she worried her lip. Her eyes were glued to her sister who walked down the hall and into the living room. He interlaced his fingers with hers and tugged at her arm, "Come on, let's give them some privacy."

Addie nodded mutely and let Damon lead her up to his room. Upon entering, he tugged the backpack from Addie's arm and dropped it by his dresser. He pulled Addie over to his bed and sat down next to her. After a moment he got up and turned his shower on.

"I don't want Stefan overhearing," he explained at Addie's questioning glance. Please say something," Damon begged after several minutes.

Addie looked at him, her deep blue eyes red from crying, "What do you want me to say? That you're an idiot for provoking her? I would hope you are smart enough to have already gathered that."

"I have," he admitted. "You said she called you.. What exactly did she say?"

Addie sighed, "Well, she told Elena it was because it was because her and Stefan were together. Katherine told me she was making a statement because I didn't keep you distracted. She didn't want you asking questions about her and that stupid rock. Apparently, with Mason dead and you having the moonstone it was suppose to be super easy for me to keep you off her track."

"That's bogus," grumbled Damon. "Did you tell her that Mason ratted out that she wanted the stone, which would obviously make me question why? I mean, that's not your fault."

"Oh, man! Why didn't I think of trying to rationalize that with her?" Addie snapped at him, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Do you really think Katherine wants to hear anymore of my excuses, especially considering she was already pissed at me for not knowing everything Jeremy knew and telling her? Maybe you should have told her that you tortured that information out of Mason and she wouldn't have been pissed at me."

Damon shook his head, "I think she already had it planned and it was convenient for her to tell you she's making a statement. What she did was to make Stefan and Elena break up."

"Or you just don't want to take any blame,"

Damon pulled her face in his hands, making her look up at him, "I do. I'm sorry she's even more pissed off because I couldn't resist baiting her. I'm sorry, Ads. I'm doing everything I can to help you and protect your family. In this case, I just didn't think. I apologize that I think without speaking."

"Let's just forget about it. I don't want to think about any of that," she sighed.

"Ok," Damon agreed. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her forehead.

Addie let her arms encircle Damon's waist as she rested her head on his shoulder. Sighing, she recalled, "We were suppose to drain my blood today."

"Things came up," Damon countered.

Addie shook her head, "If we don't tonight, we're going to have to wait nearly a week."

"Then we wait," Damon said decisively. "We have the masquerade tomorrow; I can't watch you."

She dropped her hand to Damon's thigh and squeezed, "I don't need a babysitter, Damon."

"It's not to babysit you," he murmured, covering her hand with his own. "I just don't want something bad to happen."

"Damon, you can look at this one of two ways; I go about my life normally and something bad happens and I die or I go about with your blood in my system, something bad happens and I still die because I'm not becoming a vampire," Addie pointed out objectively.

He groaned, rubbing his hand over his face, "There's a difference."

Addie pushed away from Damon and stood up, going to her backpack. "No, there really isn't," Addie insisted, digging through the bag. Finding her bathing suit she pulled it out. Holding up the clothes, she looked at him, "So, are you going to give me some privacy or what?"

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Damon muttered, dropping his face in his hands.

"Nope."

He got up, groaning, "Fine. I'll be right back."

Addie changed once again into the purple bikini top, matching bottoms, and board shorts. She dove back into the bag again, fishing out her father's surgical kit. Opening it, she carefully pulled out the scalpel, cleaned and sterilized since its last use. There was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in," she answered, standing back up.

Damon entered, juggling four pint glasses in his hands. He shrugged at Addie's quizzical look. "If I were drinking your blood, I could tell you exactly how much you were losing. Monitoring by how much is flowing out of your neck? Yeah, I'm not too good at telling. Actually, I'm not sure how much you loss before. I was going for 40% but you looked really sick before all the signs of stage 4 of hypovolemic shock that I got too worried to keep…"

"So, four pint glasses for four pints of blood?" Addie checked.

Damon tilted his head back and forth in debate, "We could possibly get away with three. Last time you probably lost about three and a half, I'm guessing."

Addie huffed, "We're doing the whole four pints and you better not chicken out. After talking to Katherine today, I find it highly unlikely that I'm still compelled."

Damon dropped the glasses on the bed, his head whipping to Addie. "You mean besides when she called about Jenna?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. She showed up here after I told her you went off hunting for moonstones and werewolves," Addie said dismissively.

She could see Damon's jaw clench, "Why am I just now hearing about this?"

"Gist of the conversation - steal the moonstone from you, get it to her. I'll figure out some excuse to stall her. That's all the important information. Happy?" Addie quipped, crossing her arms.

"No," Damon sneered. "Katherine didn't make a personal appearance just to tell you that. What happened?"

Addie rolled her eyes, "You're right; she mostly showed up to interrogate and bitch. Nothing happened that I couldn't handle."

He looked at her hard, "Please don't tell me you actually think you can handle Katherine Pierce."

"No but I'm not as stupid as you seem to think," she snarled, thrusting the scalpel at Damon.

"I've never thought you were," Damon remarked, carefully taking the blade. "I just think-"

Addie turned on him, feeling tense, "I don't want to hear it. I've heard enough of everyone's opinions today. Can we just discuss her tomorrow, please? She's already done enough damage for one day."

Damon nodded, "Ok. You're right. It's getting late anyways. We should just get this stupid thing over with. Um, what do you think about me compelling you not to feel any pain or discomfort? That way, it shouldn't hurt when I cut you. Afterwards, you know how the cut or wound isn't painful but kind of tender? If you're still compelled it won't bother you."

She thought this over for a moment, "You're not going to bite me?"

"Well, no," Damon admitted. He was kind of hoping she wouldn't point that out. How exactly was he suppose to explain that he simply couldn't drink her blood? "The venom makes you practically unconscious and I just, I feel safer doing it being able to tell how far from consciousness you are slipping since it relates to how much blood you've lost."

"Ok," Addie consented.

* * *

Damon held Addie's head against his bare chest, gently stroking her hair. He'd cut her carotid artery this time so the blood would flow faster, meaning a smaller incision. Hanging her head over his bathtub had prevented blood from covering both of them. All in all, the second blood draining had proved to be much cleaner than the first.

Damon groaned at the knocking at his door. Didn't Stefan get that the running shower was as good as a "Do Not Disturb" sign? Leaving Addie propped up against a stack of pillows, Damon left the comfort of his bed to open his door.

"Yes?" he drawled out, cracking open his door just enough to glare at his brother. He smirked when Stefan's face screwed in disgust at his state of undress..

"A couple of things," his little brother frowned. "First of all, I'm here to make sure you haven't done something extremely stupid. I smell blood. A lot of blood. What have you done?"

"Nothing to cause permanent damage," Damon winked. "Speaking of blood, does it smell extremely sweet to you?"

Stefan glared at him, "I'm trying not to focus on it."

"Yeah, yeah. I'd kill you before you could make it past this door," he threatened. "However, we both know you have smelled it. So, exceptionally sweet or no?"

"Yes," Stefan answered in a pinched voice.

Damon nodded slowly, "I thought so. You know, on second thought, I would let you drink it."

Stefan rolled his bright green eyes, "Secondly, fourteen, Damon. She's fourteen."

"Wow! You know math!" Damon gasped. "I'm perfectly, painfully aware of how old she is. If that is all," he made to close the door.

Damon huffed as his brother put his hand out, preventing Damon from shutting the door. "One last thing, I'm not you. I don't spy. There's no need to keep the shower going."

He pretended to consider this for a minute before shaking his head, "Nah. You're probably just saying that so I won't think you'll spy when you actually will."

"That's something you would do," Stefan scoffed, turning to leave, before pausing. "Fourteen, Damon. You shouldn't be worried about me overhearing anything."

* * *

**A/N: Creeping up on 15k words. That has to have been the longest episode (2x06 - Plan B) that I have covered. Thank you guys so much for your questions, reviews, favorites, and follows! They mean the world to me! =)**


	23. Chapter 26

The sensation of chilly water shooting down every limb and into the tips of her fingers and toes roused Addie. She groaned, feeling frigid all over and pulled the electric blanket to her more closely. Rubbing her bare legs together, she futilely hoped to generate enough friction for heat. Despite being wrapped up in the familiar feeling of her Ravens' sweatshirt, her back felt coldest of all. She turned her head and found her cheek pressed against a firm, bare chest; it felt slightly warmer than she did. Sleepily, Addie murmed, "Damon?"

"Of course, Ads," he whispered, wrapping his arms over the electric blanket and comforter to hold them closer to her. In an attempt to provide her warmth, he tossed a leg over hers.

She groaned, kicking it off, "Your jeans are scratchy."

Damon chuckled, "If you wanted me to take my pants of, all you had to do was ask."

"Are you legs warm?" implored Addie.

"Uh, warmer than you are right now," Damon answered after a beat, taken aback by this question.

Addie wiggled away from his grasp as she ordered, "Pants. Off. Now."

Fingers working at the button and fly of his jean, Damon rolled his eyes, "You're bossy. I said _ask._"

"Yet you're still taking them off," she pointed out smugly, feeling Damon's weight shift as he lifted his hips to lower the garments.

He smirked, kissing her cheek, dangerously close to the corner of her mouth. Kicking his jeans off the rest of the way, he couldn't resist teasing her, "A very pretty girl wanted me to strip down to my underwear. I'm not going to challenge that."

"Purely for warmth. No funny business, Salvatore," Addie warned, as she felt Damon undo the stack of pillows behind her, carelessly sending the extra to the floor.

Damon smiled innocently though Addie's sleepy eyes were closed. He twisted her onto her side and pulled her close to him. "Of course it's just for warmth," he stressed, intertwining their legs. "It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you like your skin pressed against mine."

"Do not," Addie pouted, her voice groggy and tired.

"You were saying?" Damon challenged, placing his hand over the one of Addie's that traced random patterns across his naked chest with her fingertips.

Addie grumbled in protest, "I'm half asleep with vampire blood running through me; I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Mmm," Damon hummed, brushing his lips across the back of the hand before pressing it back against his chest, "I forgot you're high on my blood and completely lack control over your actions."

She buried her face between his neck and pillow. Her voice came out mumbled against his bare shoulder, "You're an ass."

"We both know you find me irresistible," he grinned cheekily, kissing her temple. His grin turned into a frown at how easily she was moving, "I guess your neck isn't bothering you."

"It's definitely stiff," she answered quickly, "but my nose is cold and somehow, even dead, you're warmer."

Damon wrapped his arm around her waist, rubbing up and down her back, "You're freezing because you have cold blood running through you. It takes awhile for your body to raise my blood to 98.6 degree, until then, you feel cold. I _feel_ warmer than you because I had some coffee while you were sleeping but really, my internal temperature is probably lower than yours."

"Blah, blah, blah, vampire science, blah, blah," mocked Addie. "All I hear is that I am definitely, 100% no longer compelled by you to take control of my life."

He groaned as he held her tighter to him, afraid she might pull away, "And do you feel any different than the last couple of days or was that compulsion taken off the first time we did this?"

Addie raised her shoulder uncertainty, "It could be mind over matter but I feel a little more clear headed. like everything was kind of in a mist before."

"And you're still lying here next to me?" he asked skeptically.

"How very astute of you," she snorted. Her hand ran up his chest, over his shoulder and around to cup the back of his neck. Inhaling deeply, she nodded into the crook of his neck, "I'm sure I want to be here, with you."

Damon pulled away and looked down at her with a teasing smile, "Are you sure? Because not too long ago, you had me in a basement set to burn to death with a bunch of other vampires."

"For all we know, it could have been _your_ stupid compulsion that made me feel like I had to do that," she snarked, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Ouch," he hissed. "I see your sharp tongue and wit remain intact."

Addie rolled her eyes, "Without them, I don't know how I would manage to put up with you."

His lips ghosted against her cheek before he laid his head back down, "You are so mean to me."

"Well, someone has to remind you that you aren't God's gift to mankind," she smirked, burrowing back between his neck and the pillow. They were quiet for several minutes, Addie eventually working up the nerves to ask, "Damon?"

"Mmm," he acknowledged, his eyes closed.

She swallowed hard and played with the fringes of his hair nervously, "Last time you told me why you turned your humanity off. I was wondering why you turned it back on."

"Guilt," he replied simply.

"But guilt made you turn it off," Addie pressed.

His arm tightened around her, "It has a funny way of sneaking up on you."

"Oh."

The air was silent and thick until he turned onto his back, sighing heavily. "You're not going to like the answer."

She rolled her eyes, "I don't think you turned it back on because you're such a wonderful person. I'm well aware that you're a bad guy, Damon."

"It was 1994," he started quietly. "Short version: Stefan made me upset and I wanted him to pay. I don't know if you ever met my really distant nephew Zach. He lived here and took care of the house, made sure any vampires had to be invited in. Well, he did all that until I killed him when Stefan locked me up for using Caroline. Anyways, he had a girlfriend who was pregnant back in '94. I killed her. The fetus subsequently died. It took like six weeks for me to feel guilty about it."

"So," she said softly, resting her head on his chest, "you felt guilty for killing your unborn niece or nephew."

Damon shook his head, "No, I couldn't have cared less that a tiny fraction of DNA related the thing to me. She was far enough along that the fetus could feel pain. When I drained the blood from her, I depleted the food and oxygen supply for the fetus. It basically had a long, painful death of suffocation. I felt guilty about _that."_

Addie turned her face into Damon's chest and nodded.

"I told you that you didn't want to know," he muttered scornfully.

She shook her head and choked out, "No. Thank you for telling me."

"Ok, then what's wrong with you?"

Again she shook her head.

Warningly, he drew out, "Addie…"

"I swear it's not funny," she promised, her words muffled by the hand covering the smile she fought to hold back. "I just find it ironic that you, a blood sucking parasite, felt guilty for killing a blood leeching parasite."

"I'm - I don't," Damon stalled. "I'm not sure if I'm pissed or baffled."

Addie's face quickly turned serious as she cupped Damon's cheek, "I'm not laughing at you. Killing an innocent baby is awful. You _should_ feel horribly guilty about it. It's just that out of all the people you killed and all the horrible things you undoubtedly did, I find it ironic that killing something so, not similar but… well, it lives off blood and it has a parasitic relationship with its host; they're just features you share that kind of define what you are."

He frowned, "You sure you want to define a baby as a blood leeching parasite?"

"Ah, well, I mean I know it's not the nicest the way to describe a fetus but that's exactly what it is," she finished defensively.

His brow furrowed and eyes narrowed, "You're a girl; aren't you suppose to be calling babies cute and cuddly and cooing about how you want one?"

In the pale moonlight that leaked through past the curtains, he could see Addie pale. "Yeah, um, my parents raised Elena with all the maternal traits. I think I would rather die than have a kid."

"You're exaggerating," heaved Damon.

"No, I'm not," insisted Addie. "I looked at how much of a pain in the ass my siblings and I were, heck, still are. There is no way I would be able to have a kid without either losing them or accidentally killing them or raising them to be completely screwed up. I believe there is a reason I was blessed with a brother and a sister and that was so I could be an aunt; all the joys of having a kid except I don't have to carry around a parasite for 40 weeks, nor do I have money munching parasite strapped to me for at least 18 years _but_ I get to have all the fun of having a kid whenever I want to take out my nieces or nephews, I get to feel pride when they do something good, best of all, I get to return them once I'm tired of them."

Damon snorted, "You've really thought this out. You really don't like kids, do you?"

She shook her head, "Actually, I love kids. I like them more than either one of my siblings. I'm the only one who babysits; the other two don't have the patience for it. I just hate the idea of having my own kids. That's way too much for me to handle. I can barely manage to keep up with myself."

"You are a world of conundrums," he laughed.

Addie shrugged, "Not really. I just know exactly what I want. So be it if it happens to be contradictory to the logic of most people. Elena will have at least three and Jeremy will want more than one since he'll think an only child will get too bored and lonely. That will be plenty of children for me to play with."

"You've got it all planned out, don't you?" Damon grinned.

She nodded, resting her head back on his chest, "I have my whole life mapped out. Of course, it was all penned before vampires came trespassing."

Damon frowned, feeling an uncomfortable twisting in his gut as he spoke, "Don't worry about that. I promise that one day you won't have to deal with anything supernatural."

"Comforting," Addie lied. She yawned, wrapping her arm around his waist, "Good night, Damon."

"Night, Ads," he whispered.

* * *

Half and half poured from the quart sized carton and into the mug, lightening the black liquid. Damon continued to stir in the creamer until the coffee was a dark caramel color. Grabbing the sugar from the cabinet above the coffee maker, he added in three heaping teaspoons.

"What are you doing?" came a condescending voice.

He raised an eyebrow, turning around with mug in hand, "What are you talking about, Brother?"

"Addie," Stefan gritted out, leaning against the counter. "What are you doing with Addie?"

"Well," Damon drew out, drawing his lip between his teeth as if deep in thought, "right now I'm making her breakfast." He set the coffee on a tray.

Stefan gave his older brother a cold glare, "Besides that."

"Oh, do you mean to question if I'm sleeping with her?" Damon asked, pulling out a can of whipped cream and a tub of strawberries.

Crossing his arms, Stefan took a deep breath, "I wouldn't put it like that. Even you couldn't possibly be that stupid."

"You're right; I'm not," Damon agree, slipping three pancakes from a steeping stack onto a spatula and then to a clean plate.

"However, you are enough of an ass to be using her," Stefan interjected.

Uncapping the can, Damon shook the whipped cream and looked challengingly at his brother, "And what, pray tell, would I be using her for?"

Stefan shook his head, "Hell if I know. To make Elena mad? To make her jealous?"

He squirted two dollops of cream for eyes near the top of the pancake before taking notice of what was said. "Did you ever consider that what I'm doing has absolutely nothing to do with Elena?"

"Yeah, ok. I'll play along. Let's pretend you aren't doing this for Elena's attention. Why is Addie spending the night? Why are you making her breakfast?" Stefan pushed.

Damon made a smile with the whipped cream and placed two strawberries as fangs. "Hmm, you don't think it has anything to do with the fact that I like her, do you? That would just be too logical, wouldn't it?"

Stefan frowned, "You don't like people. You use people. I'm being serious."

"Shockingly," Damon said flatly, putting the items back in the refrigerator, "so am I."

"No," the younger vampire insisted, "you can't like her. She's fourteen."

Opening the microwave and pulling out the warmed bottle of maple syrup, Damon rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I can. Liking her doesn't mean I'm screwing her. I'm not doing anything wrong, Stefan."

"You know Elena will kill you if you hurt her sister."

Damon scoffed, "I'm more afraid of Addie. Elena is all talk. Addie actually will kill me if I hurt her. However, it's hard to hurt someone if you're not even dating them. Not that it's any of your busybody business, but we're just hanging out. We're just friends so unscrew your boxers."

"Damon," Stefan said warningly.

"Stefan," Damon mocked, picking up the loaded tray and heading back upstairs. "Don't worry; I'll be sure to update my Facebook status if something happens."

Reaching his room, he carefully balanced the tray on one arm while he fiddled with the doorknob. Placing both hands back on the tray, with his hip, he pushed the door open and close. He bit back the smile that tugged at the corner of his lips at the sight of Addie sprawled out in his bed. When he'd left she was curled up on her side but now she laid stretched out on his Carefully, he sat on the bed next to her.

"Ads," he said gently. She groaned in response. "Wake up, Ads."

"Five more minutes," she grumbled in protest.

Damon chuckled, "I have food."

One eye, as blue as the deep ocean peered up at him, "You're trying to kill me."

"I wasn't - that was due to a faulty waffle iron!" Damon protested indignantly.

Addie rolled over a sat up, stacking some pillows behind her, "Those things were poison, Damon. Raw poison."

He shook his head, putting the tray over her lap, "The waffles were perfectly cooked."

"On the outside."

"On the outside," Damon conceded after a minute of silence. "However, it's not my fault they weren't done on the inside. The recipe said four minutes and I had them in there for four and a half."

She pat his cheek condescendingly, "Nothing ever turns out right when you try and make it healthy. Delicious waffles should not be made of shredded apple, ricotta cheese, egg whites, flax seed and wheat flour. Waffles are meant to have no nutritional value what-so-ever."

He glared at her, "No need to be mean. Besides, your eating is about as healthy as a picky kid's. Things can be delicious and nutritious."

Addie shook her head, "Nu-huh. One way or the other, hun. You can't have the best of both worlds."

"Ok, well, I promise the only thing healthy about the pancakes are strawberries," Damon smiled.

"Yeah," Addie drawled, "about that. Why am I staring at a vampire?"

Damon's brow furrowed, "What's wrong with it?"

"Seriously, Damon? You're making vampire smiley faces? I think the question is what's wrong with you," Addie muttered.

Damon crossed his arms and looked at her sternly, "So it's a crime to wake up in a good mood?"

"If it's you? Yes," she answered firmly.

Damon shrugged, grabbing the mug off the tray, "Guess you must think I drugged the coffee then."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey," Addie said, reaching for the cup, which he made sure was out of reach, "I never said anything about the coffee. Give that back!"

He took a sip and shook his head. "Eat the pancakes."

Addie rolled her eyes, "Just give me the coffee, Damon."

Damon reached out with the hand not holding the warm beverage and picked up a fork. He cut a piece of the top pancake and speared it onto the utensil. "Look, they're perfectly cooked inside."

"I don't trust that you haven't put some weird stuff into the batter to try and make them healthy," Addie said, turning her head from the food and reaching for the coffee again.

He sighed, giving her the mug, "I swear I didn't mess with the recipe. These pancakes were the first thing my mother ever taught me how to make. In one hundred and fifty something years I have never messed with the recipe."

Addie took a long swig of coffee and peered at him, searching for any traces of deception. "Ok, ok," she sighed in defeat when she detected non.

Damon felt the big, stupid grin on his face and made sure to drop it a bit. He held up the fork to her lips again and with one last look of hesitation at him, she carefully pulled off the food. She chewed at it thoughtfully.

"That's actually really good," she said slowly, smiling at him sheepishly.

He leaned in towards her and whispered conspiratorially, "I know."

"Do they have nutmeg in them?" Addie asked after Damon fed her another bite. He nodded. "And vanilla?" He winked at her. "And cinnamon?"

"You got all the flavors," he smirked.

Addie picked up one of the strawberries and rolled it in the whipped cream smile. "Well, I apologize for doubting you. They are delicious. However, I don't like strawberries. You're trying to ruin perfectly good pancakes by adding nutrition." She picked up the fruit and prodded it against Damon's mouth.

He took the berry between his teeth, biting to the top of the fruit. His tongue darted out to lick at the cream on his lips. He watched Addie carefully, her cheeks flushing "Sorry, I didn't know. Though, you have to admit they make the perfect fangs."

"Blood covered and all," she smirked, holding up the second strawberry for him. This time his lips grazed her fingers when he bit into it.

"Oh, um, Stefan is questioning what we're up to," Damon interjected into the growing silence.

Addie chewed at another bite and twirled the fork in thought, "I don't know if Katherine cares that much since she got him and my sister to break up."

Damon slid down the bed until he was laying down, "Well, didn't she want them questioning us in part to distract them from her?"

"It's kind of hard to distract them from her when she does stupid shit to get herself noticed," she muttered, squirting syrup onto the pancakes.

He looked up at her reflectively, "You said we'd talk about her today. What exactly happened when she came over yesterday?"

"She was… Damon, what the hell is Katherine up to when she's nice?" Addie asked frustratedly, letting the fork clatter against the plate.

Flipping onto his stomach, he supported his weight on his elbows, "What do you mean nice?"

Addie shrugged and shook her head, "I mean I pissed her off but she didn't yell at me or end up asking even more of me or threaten me or sound angry or I don't know! She was very neutral as opposed to bossy and commanding and kind of scary."

Damon frowned, "You sure it wasn't your sister?"

"This person was too nice to be my sister," Addie scoffed.

"Katherine can be charming and manipulative but nice? I don't think that's in her vocabulary, Ads," he answered slowly.

"Well, she wasn't exactly nice, like I said. She was more neutral, which is probably as nice as she gets."

He rubbed his chin in thought, "I - well - don't take this the wrong way but you were a little on edge yesterday. There is the slightest possibility that she saw that and decided not to push you."

Addie opened her mouth to object but didn't; she had been touchy. "Ok but why wouldn't she push? Katherine pushes to make a point."

"Not if it's not going to get her anywhere. See, you're thinking more about what she said than if she had acted like she usually does," Damon pointed out.

Addie nodded, "Yeah, I mean, I guess I am."

"So what was so important that she wants you thinking about it so much?"

"To steal the stone from you, or Jeremy in the chance that he got it and refused to give it to you, and give it to her," she replied automatically.

Damon shook his head, "No way in hell are we giving that stone to her."

She chewed on her lip debating whether or not to tell Damon more. If she was going to work with him, it was best if they both knew everything. "She didn't act bothered by you killing Mason Lockwood."

"He was just a means to the moonstone," Damon shrugged. "It's not that surprising."

"I know that she wants the moonstone for a ritual in which she needs four ingredients," Addie breathed out.

Damon fully sat up at this, "What ingredients? What's the ritual for?"

Addie shrugged slightly, "No idea what it is for, I just know the moonstone is one of the ingredients. She said she _had_ the other three but it looked like she was going to be out of one for awhile."

"What does that mean?" Damon muttered.

"I have no idea."

Damon bit his lip, "We cannot let her get to the moonstone, Addie. Who knows when she'll have that other ingredient ready."

"I've been thinking," she hesitated,taking a bite of food to stall for time. "What's the worse that she can possibly be up to? I mean, if we give it to her, well, she's already promised that she'll leave."

"No," Damon said firmly. "If that stone didn't have something to do with werewolves, maybe but since it involves something that can kill me? I'm not up for just tossing it to Katherine."

"But you've said it before - Katherine's main goal is always self-preservation. You think she's going to do something that lets loose a bunch of vampire killers?" Addie persisted.

Damon raised an eyebrow, "If she has immunity, she'll do whatever. I don't know what she has planned but I don't trust her."

"But if she leaves…"

"You really think she's going to leave?" Damon snarked.

Addie bit her lip, "You think she'd stick around just for Stefan? Or that this plan has something to do with Mystic Falls?"

Damon frowned, "I don't think it has to do with Mystic Falls. Considering what she's already done to get my brother's attention, I wouldn't be surprised if she stuck around."

"How about we ship Stefan off with her?" Addie suggested jokingly.

He rolled his eyes, "You want to add Caroline and me so you can have your vampire free town?"

"Well… I mean, if you want to. I'm not suggesting it but if you want to," Addie repeated lamely.

He took her hand in his and kissed the back of it, "I don't want to go anywhere, Ads. Mystic Falls is just starting to feel like home again."

She smiled down at him, cupping his cheek, "Are you shaving for tonight?"

Rubbing his hand over his lower face he looked at her confused, "Yeah, two days of scruff doesn't really go with a tux. Why?"

Addie shrugged, blushing, "No reason."

"It's that bad?" he laughed.

"No," she mumbled.

Damon raised an eyebrow, "So you like it?"

She shrugged again, her face turning a deeper shade of red.

"You do!" Damon smirked.

"It's not your worse look," she muttered

He tugged the tray with the plate of half-eaten pancakes further down over Addie's legs. Grasping the far side of her face, he held her head in place as he rubbed his cheek against hers playfully. "Still like it?" he teased, laughing as she squirmed under his ministrations.

One hand of Addie's pulled at the one Damon cradled her face with and the other hand she brought up into his face, pushing him away. She scowled, "Stop it, you scruffy looking nerf-herder."

He pulled back and looked at her greatly offended, "Did you just call me scruffy looking?"

Blinking slowly, she cocked her head at Damon and studied him for a minute, wondering if it was possible. Blue eyes narrowed in thought, she skeptically asked, "Did you just understand a Star Wars reference."

Damon scoffed, "_Star Wars: A New Hope_ was the first decent movie to come out in the awful decade that was the '80s. Of course I'm going to understand a reference to it."

Addie shrugged and nodded, she couldn't disagree with this logic. And yet, "Stefan didn't get my reference when I first met him."

He smirked, resting his chin on her shoulder so his cheek brushed her. "Ads, I'm going to let you in on a little secret," he whispered in her ear darkly. "My brother is a square."

She shuddered at the feel of his stubble against her smooth skin. Jerking her shoulder, his chin became unsettled. "Will you stop that?" she scowled.

"Frown at me all you want," Damon grinned superiorly, waggling his eyebrows at her, "but your eyes are dilated. You like it."

"I'm going to kick you," she muttered.

Damon laughed and spoke softly in her ear, making sure his cheek rubbed against hers, "That would be a much more terrifying threat if a tray of pancakes wasn't blocking your legs."

Addie turned her head towards Damon for a quick retort, retracking quickly as he had begun to turn his head at the same time and she felt the corner of his lips ghost under hers. Dark blue eyes met lighter ones, an unspoken tension mounting. Hearing her heart quicken, he couldn't resist letting his eyes fall to her lips. Biting back a groan he rested his forehead against hers as her tongue darted out, quickly moistening her lips.

"Ads," he forced out, his voice ragged and hoarse. He cupped her cheek and used his thumb to coax her bottom lip from in between her teeth. Noticing both their breathing had increased, he traced the plump, worried flesh with the pad of his thumb for several long minutes. He only stopped when he felt her hand gently wrap around his wrist and tug his hand away. Her eyes were flickering between his eyes, darker than usual, and his lips, looking as soft as velvet.

She let go of his wrist and intertwined their fingers. "Damon," she whispered softly, hesitantly.

He nodded, his forehead moving against hers. It was the only response he could think of besides pulling her into a bruising kiss. She had said she wasn't ready and he was doing his best to respect that, even if it drove him insane. The next kiss, she would have to initiate it. He didn't want to put any pressure on her but, God, did he want to kiss her. Damon felt his mouth run dry as she tilted her head up towards him. The chime of the doorbell cut through his internal debate of whether or not to meet her halfway.

Addie pulled away from Damon, frowning, "You should probably get that."

Damon groaned, tossing his head back, "Stefan can get it. Really, what's the point of having a sibling other than using them for things that are _extremely _inconvenient for you?"

"I completely agree. I'm using mine for their offspring, remember?" Addie smiled slightly.

"Glad we're in agreement," he smirked roguishly, cupping her cheek and leaning back in to where they were before the doorbell interrupted.

"But," Addie insisted firmly, pushing at the center of his chest, "_you_ should get that, Damon."

Closing his eyes, he tried to hide his mounting frustration. So close, he'd been _so_ close. "Alright," he sighed, brushing his lips against her cheek, "I'm going. I'm going." He gave her a small grin when she gave him a weak, apologetic smile. "It's ok," he said, squeezing her hand, "I promise."

Addie waited until the door closed behind him before getting up. Carefully, she carried the breakfast tray over to his dresser and set it down. She bent down to her backpack, still next to the set of chest that Damon had dropped it next to last night. Opening it, she was surprised to find it cleaned of contents. Looking over her shoulders, her eyes traveled the room searching for her clothes. Not seeing them, she turned back to the bag. Hearing the door click she asked in confusion, "Have you seen my clothes?"

"Oh, um, yeah. I moved your stuff into the second draw," Damon said uncomfortably, juggling a large, rectangular box.

She stood slowly and hesitantly open the draw he mentioned. Sure enough all her clothes were there. Quickly, it was closed again. Suddenly she didn't feel like showering. "You do realize that's weird, right?" she asked pointedly, turning to Damon.

He shrugged, "Kinda. I mean, it's not that weird. Weird is you staying over living out of your backpack."

"Yeahhhhh but doesn't me having a draw of my stuff at your place kind of indicate something," Addie mused, shaking her head.

"It can't indicate anything if there is nothing to indicate, Addie," he muttered in frustration, recalling the almost kiss. "If it bothers you that much just undo it. But not right now. Right now, Katherine either sent you a gift or a bomb," he said, studying the package wrapped in royal blue wrapping paper and a bright red ribbon.

Addie looked at the box in Damon's hands, noticing it for the first time. "Ummm," she stalled, "how do you know it's from her?"

He tugged an envelope out from under the ribbon, Addie's name written in big, loopy writing and passed it to her. "It has been 145 years since I've seen it but I _think_ that is her loud, over-the-top handwriting," he scowled.

She looked at the card he offered her with distaste, not taking it. Eyeing the box skeptically she asked, "Why would you bring a potential bomb up here?"

"I highly doubt it's an actual bomb. Katherine would be more clever than a box. She'd do something like a mailbox bomb so that's why I let Stefan get the mail," Damon smirked. He waved the card under Addie's nose, "Read it. I want to know what it says."

Addie snatched the envelope and stuck her tongue out at Damon, "Katherine wouldn't put a bomb in your mailbox - Stefan might get hurt. I'm the one who should be sending my siblings to get the mail."

"Smart ass," he sneered. "Though, very good point. Don't get the mail anymore."

"If anything, I'm going to get the mail more now that you've suggested the idea of a mailbox bomb. I'll use my siblings for kids but not as shields. I'm playing this stupid game with Katherine to protect them," Addie reminded him, rolling her eyes.

"So, should I read the card?" Damon asked, setting the box on the bed.

Getting his message, Addie opened the envelope a pulled out a blank index card with the same loopy writing as the envelope on it.

_I'm sending Damon and Stefan my love and a message today. Change of plans. I want the moonstone tonight. Make sure I get it. Wear this. Full outfit, Addison. The heels perfectly match the outfit. Do not throw the whole thing off by wearing those damn tennis shoes. Also, we're switching your usual nude/clear lip gloss to classic red lipstick (It's in the box.). Get ready in the yellow room (it's a spare room that overlooks the backyard - Damon can show you). Don't leave until Damon comes to check on you. Have him help you put on the necklace. I want him eating out of the palm of your hand tonight. He's Damon. He's going to try something. I expect him to stop if you get in the middle. When he tried to read this don't let him. I don't care what you have to do, you don't let him read this._

_I repeat do not let Damon read this._

"So?" Damon asked looking at her expectantly.

"An outfit for tonight," Addie growled, shoving the index card back into the envelope.

Damon held out his hand and said eagerly, "Let me read."

Addie went to hand him the envelope before changing her mind and smirking. She pulled the card back out and used the envelope to cover up everything but the last line and showed him. He read the line and pouted.

"Seriously, Ads, let me read it," he huffed, reaching for the card.

"Nu-uh," she grinned, pulling the card away just as it grazed his fingers. "I like this little part of Katherine's game."

"What? Screwing with me?" glared Damon.

She grinned and nodded.

He shook his head, "It's not cute or funny, Addie."

"Oh, she does it to be mean," Addie nodded in agreement, "but I do it because you're cute when you get all pouty."

Damon crossed his arms and frowned at her, "I'm being serious."

Addie tossed the card on the bed and pulled Damon's hands into hers, "Look, what you need to know is that she is sending you and Stefan her," Addie gagged, "love and a message today. How and when I don't know. But she wants the moonstone tonight. Bonus info you don't need to know is that I'm not allowed to ruin her perfect outfit with Converse because she's a bitch and she wants me to get ready in some yellow room."

"Yeah, she's not getting the moonstone," Damon muttered, still upset.

"Hey," Addie said softly, running her hands up his arms and over his bare biceps, "you know she expects you to try something."

Damon nodded once sharply, "Because I'm going to."

"Damon," she whispered, squeezing at his taught muscles.

He raised a cool eyebrow at her, "You can't ask me to do nothing."

Addie sighed, "No, I expect not but she does expect you to stop if I get in the middle."

"Well, there's a simple solution for that," Damon said darkly, "don't get in the middle."

She shook her head, "I shouldn't know what you're planning."

"Of course you should! You should be helping me get Katherine," Damon snapped.

Sitting on the bed, she shook her head more insistently, "Damon, _you_ want to get Katherine. _I_ want to get my family through the nightmare that is Katherine alive and relatively pain free."

"What would you call all that crying your sister did last night? I mean, Katherine caused your aunt to stab herself in the gut and forced your sister to break up with her boyfriend. I'm seeing a lot of pain," Damon scoffed bitterly.

"Elena and Stefan were never going to work! Katherine did them a fucking favor. Vampire," Addie said, holding out one hand. "Human," she continued, holding up the other. "The two don't mix. Sure, it's all rainbows and sunshine now but Elena wants a big ol' happily ever after and that doesn't involve her at 87, childless, with a boyfriend who still looks 17. It was going to end eventually. She was going to end up crying one way or another. _This_ way is actually the best way because it means she's not actually being hurt by the guy she loves nor is she having to break Stefan's heart; it's all Katherine's fault. And if Katherine _really_ wanted Jenna dead, she would have had her slit her own throat or stab a lung."

Damon buried his face in his hands, "Are you really making Katherine out to be the good guy here?!"

Addie scratched at her eyebrow and shrugged, "She screwed you over, I know. What she did to my sister is causing her pain now but, well, it's better than the other ways her and Stefan were going to end. All Katherine's intentions are evil but…"

"What makes you so sure they would have ended?" Damon asked slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

She held her left hand out, palm up, "Vampire." She held out her right next to it, "Human. When does that ever work, Damon?"

"Elena could've turned," he pointed out.

She frowned and shook her head, "Damon, I know my sister. Elena can't wait to be a mom. She use to pretend I was _her_ baby until I was old enough to crawl away. Then every babydoll my parents gave me, she stole so she could have twins or triplets. Damon, I would become a vampire before my sister."

"So you would turn?" Damon asked slowly, his stomach twisting.

"Hell no! Do you not know me at all?" she asked, looking at him incredulously. "I'm not turning. Elena's not turning. Jeremy is the only one stupid enough to."

Damon shrugged, "Not all reasons for turning are stupid."

Addie shook her head, "You might think that but I still think turning for love is stupid."

"That's because you're too scared to believe that you could care that much for someone besides yourself," he snapped.

"No," Addie said slowly, "I just happen to be against turning into anything that has a constant desire to kill because, you know, my self-control just isn't all that great sometimes and I would probably go on a killing spree out of boredom one day. That and I'm not the biggest fan of blood; it's not very pretty. Shallow reasons not to turn, I know."

"Bullshit. You have some of the most self-control I've ever seen," Damon hissed.

Addie sneered at him, "Only because I imagine all the different ways I can kill you rather than actually attempting them."

Damon put a hand on either side of Addie's hip, where she sat and brought his face up close to hers. "Kill?" he sneered, his lips hovering over hers. "I think you mean kiss."

_SMACK!_

Feeling his cheek burn, Damon growled. Addie raised her eyebrows in a challenge, curling her hand into a fist. She had a feeling that the sting in her hand hurt a lot more than anything she could do to him. Pursing his lips, Damon used his fingertips against the mattress to push his weight away from Addie. He walked over to the door and stopped, his hand on the doorknob.

"Katherine use to stay in the yellow room. Last door on the right," he informed her before leaving the room.

* * *

Addie looked out of the corner of her eye and into the three way vanity mirror as she worked on pinning the rose patterned clipped into half of her colored hair. The red in the dress brought out the red undertones of the purple dye job. Satisfied that the clip was centered in the back of her head she turned back and faced the mirror. With her middle finger she carefully wiped at the blood red lipstick along her bottom lip. She looked at her finger, not surprised to see that nothing had come away. She had literally spent the entire day getting ready, purposefully the commotion from downstairs. Glancing at her cell, she saw that it had been a solid two hours since she had heard anything. It was already half past eight; had Damon left for the party?

Sighing, she tugged the long, fingerless gloves up; they were black leather with red stripes and black satin lace up the length. Katherine had to get some sick pleasure from torturing her.

"Ads?" came Damon's voice from the other side of the door.

"Come in," she called back, hastily standing up.

Damon opened the door just enough so he could get into the room and closed it. He studied the floor for a minute as he listened intently. Finally he heard the sound of Stefan leaving and turned to Addie. "Ads about earl - wow," he halted, seeing her.

"I know," she sighed, "Katherine just…"

Damon shook his head, "You look beautiful."

Addie looked down at the dress. Katherine had no sense of subtlety. It had a strapless, black corset bodice with blood red satin that fell in sharp folds from mid-thigh to her knee and over it was a black sheer veil with velvet black roses staggered through out. The dress had been paired with strappy red stiletto pumps covered with black lace.

"I think the only thing Katherine and I agree upon about this outfit is the mask," Addie laughed slightly, holding up the matte black eye mask, with a single swirl outlining the left eye and a bright red rose on the right side.

Damon shrugged, "I think you look beautiful."

"You said that already," she blushed.

"I know," Damon grinned, walking to her, then frowned, "but don't seem to think so."

Addie scowled, "Um, no. I feel like Katherine's emo Barbie."

Damon bit his lip and hesitantly put a hand on Addie's shoulder, "Don't-Don't use the K word. You're too pretty. Besides, I don't think emo Barbie would look half as good in red lipstick."

She laughed, "What does looking nice have to do with saying Katherine?"

"Well, nothing," he admitted, "but it made you smile so it doesn't matter."

Blushing slightly, she gave him a shy smile. "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have hit you."

"I deserved it. I was being an asshole. I'm sure it's more than satisfying imagining the ways to kill me," he smirked.

Addie shrugged, "It use to be."

Damon raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to her, "Use to?"

"Haven't really considered it in awhile," she sighed wistfully, as if reflecting on fonder times.

He snickered, sliding an arm around her waist, "Guess that means I'm growing on you."

"Well," she deliberated, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yes," he murmured, kissing her forehead.

She shook her head, "I didn't say that."

He kissed her temple, "You like me."

"You're confusing like with hate," she said sternly.

He brushed her hair behind her ear and off her shoulder and neck. Leaning down, he kissed just where her jaw and ear met. "There's a fine line between like and hate. And I think," he paused to kiss the other side of her neck, "that you crossed it."

"No," she objected, gripping at the back of his. "Still hate you."

Damon dropped his hand from the back of her neck. His hand followed the curve of her body. He felt Addie's knees buckle as his fingertips brushed against her bare skin halfway down her thigh. Reflectively, he pulled her closer to him, supporting her weight against him.

"Damon…"

Burying his face in her hair he groaned. Was his name just said as a plea or in protest? He swore to himself as he felt one of her hands travel to his chest and push at him. Eyes closed, Damon leaned back and stopped tracing patterns on the back of her thigh. Sighing, he licked his lips and pressed his hand over the one she had on his chest.

"You feel that?" he whispered.

"Mhm," she acknowledged quietly.

His icy blue eyes were alight with fire as he looked at her, "I don't think a dead heart is suppose to beat that fast."

Addie bit her lip and when that wasn't enough the inside of her cheeks. Still her lips twitched in spasms. Giving up, she let out the laugh, "That was so cheesy."

"Ugh! I know," Damon sighed in disgust. "I can't help it. You make me cheesy and nervous and I sound like a complete idiot around you."

"That's all the time that you sound like an idiot, Damon," Addie smirked, patting his chest, his hand still covering hers.

Damon rolled his eyes, "You enjoy tormenting me, don't you?"

She smiled at him innocently, "I wouldn't say torment…."

"I would," he muttered. He took in a deep breathe and went to speak before biting his lip; he repeated this several times.

"What?" Addie asked, her brow furrowed. "What's wrong, Damon?"

He sighed, "You're killing me, Addie. I don't want to pressure you but I have-"

Abruptly, she pulled away and picked up the lace choker necklace Katherine had picked out. She held it out to Damon, looking anywhere but him, "Can you put this on?"

He frowned, grabbing the necklace and inspecting. Shaking his head, he tossed it back on the table, "No, no. I have something better."

Addie watched the door swing shut behind Damon but as quick as he was gone, he was back. He bit his lip nervously as he held out his hand. In it was a teardrop blood red stone the size of her thumbnail on a coarse gold chain.

"It's beautiful, Damon. But Kath-"

Damon shook his head, "Screw Katherine. She wants you to keep me distracted or whatever, right? Well, I think you'll look a lot better in this than what she picked out."

Addie frowned, "Did she know you had this?"

"What? No. Why would you ask that?"

Addie shrugged, "She just put in the note for me to have you put the necklace on."

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, that would be so you would lift your hair and I would be enticed by your bare neck. She never knew about this. This necklace belonged to my mother. My father gave it to her when they got married. It's a red diamond."

"Oh, Damon. I would love to wear it, really, but I can't."

"Why not?" he asked, licking his lips nervously.

"Because of what it means to you. Damon, if something happened to it-"

"Then something happens. It has been sitting in a jewelry box for over 150 years. Yes, it means a lot to me but guess what. So do you," Damon said with a weak grin.

Addie bit her lip, "Really?"

"Of course, Ads," he insisted. He could see her considering the idea of wearing the necklace as she traced the jewel in his palm. "Please. It's not like it's a marriage proposal or anything. It just wearing a necklace for a couple of hours. I'm the only one who even knows that it's mine."

"Wouldn't Stefan?" she quizzed, her twitching.

Damon rolled his eyes, "Ok, so it would be a secret between you, Stefan and me."

"And Katherine."

"Who cares what Katherine knows or thinks? If anything she should be applauding you. She never go me to put a diamond on _her_."

Addie winced, "Yeahhhh. I can't wear it. When you put it that way, it sounds like I may be pissing her off."

"Oh, come on! It's not like she actually wanted me or my diamond, Addie. She's not going to be pissed. If you don't want to wear it because it is mine, just say so," Damon said firmly.

"If something happens-"

Damon cut her off, "I'm only going to be upset if something happens to you."

"Ok," she whispered nervously, turning around and lifting her hair so Damon could put the necklace on. She watched as he lined the pendant with the hollow of her throat before clasping it behind her neck.

"Perfect," Damon shrugged wrapping his arms around her waist, meeting Addie's eyes in the mirror.

Addie leaned her head against his as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "It does match," she agreed, pinching the red diamond and running back and forth along the chain.

Damon's brow furrowed, "I kinda meant the whole package. Look, Ads, do you think, would you - stop staring at me, ok?"

Addie laughed and turned around to face him, "I'm sorry? Should I not look at you when you speak?"

"Exactly! Don't look at me," he smirked. Turning her back around, he covered her eyes with his hands. "I already feel like an idiot asking this, I don't need you staring at me, making it worse."

"Asking what?" Addie laughed, pulling at his hands.

He sighed and let her have her way. She really did look beautiful, especially when her dark blue eyes sparkled with laughter. Taking one of her hands he twirled her under his arm and back to face him, "You know what? Forget I said anything."

"Save the dance moves for the dance floor, mister! And a different dance partner at that," Addie chastised him, poking a finger in the center of his chest.

Damon jutted out his bottom lip and looked at her pitifully, "You're not going to dance with me?"

Her eyes went wide, "I don't dance."

"Not even for me?" he pouted, wrapping his arms back around her waist.

She sighed, "Oh, all right."

Grinning, he pecked her cheek, "I knew you wouldn't let me down."

Addie snickered, "You're deluding yourself if you actually thought I was just serious."

"Why won't you dance with me?" he frowned, slipping one hand up to delicately trace patterns along the sensitive skin of her bare shoulders and collarbone. Smirking, he let his middle finger run along the top of her strapless dress. He bit his lip as he watched goose bumps appear where he touched, where her breast started to swell, precariously holding up the garment.

"Damon," she said, attempting to sound stern but a hint of nerves betraying her.

He dipped his finger a centimeter under the black corset bodice and retraced the cut of the dress, "Dance with me and I'll stop."

She licked her lips slowly, trying to focus, "You're being an ass."

His brow furrowed as he let his other hand drop from the small of her back to go back to ghosting against the bare skin at the back of her thigh, "Did you think I was nice?"

Taking a deep breath, Addie found the resolve to step back and away from him, "No but I never thought you would be so manipulative. At least, I hoped you wouldn't treat me that way."

He cursed under his breath, seeing he really had offended her. Running a hand over his face he sat down on the mahogany sleigh bed. "Ew! Gross! Ugh!" he shuddered, bouncing off the bed after a minute.

"What the hell is your problem?" Addie barked at him, her arms crossed protectively in front of her.

"Uh," Damon winced, looking at the bed in disgust, "I kinda remembered the last time I was in that bed."

"Now I'm grossed out," she muttered, sitting back at the vanity.

Licking his lips, he bit back his pride and kneeled in front of her. Grinning cheekily, he attempted to lighten the mood, "Any hint of jealousy?"

Looking at him in disbelief she shook her head slowly, "You really that's possible after that little performance you just put on?"

"Ads," he pleaded, reteaching for her hands but she refused to uncross her arms. Sighing, he dropped his head, resting his forehead on her knee. "I know I took that too far, I know," he whispered. "I just feel like I'm always screwing up when it comes to you," he muttered to himself, playing at the buckle on her high heel.

Addie groaned inwardly, annoyed that she was letting him get to her. "That's because you usually are," she sighed, feathering his hair through her fingers.

Damon looked up at her, leaning his head back into her head, "I really am sorry."

"Huh?" she froze, truly baffled at this admission.

He took the hand resting in her lap and cradled it gently in his, "I'm sorry."

Her dark blue eyes, made to stand out with black eyeliner, mascara, and glittery black eye shadow narrowed in suspicion, "Are you capable of being that?"

"I suppose I deserve that," he muttered bitterly, "but I'm serious, Ads. You have me wound tighter than a spring and sometimes I just forget myself. I know it's no excuse for my behavior but…" he trailed off, shrugging helplessly.

Eyebrows knitting together, she looked at him with a bit of concern, "You really are serious. Are you feeling ok?"

Damon scoff and shook his head, "When I'm around you, the last thing I feel is ok."

"I'm sorry," she lamented guilty, pulling away from him.

"No!" he said quickly, pressing the hand that had been playing with his hair against his cheek before she could retreat too far. Closing his eyes he rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand and leaned into her. "I'm messing up again," he muttered. Taking the hand still held in his, he press that one to his other cheek so that she was cradling his face. "I feel like a complete and utter idiot when I'm around you. You make me feel completely weak and powerless against you. I haven't felt so vulnerable since I've been a vampire. I don't really like people, Addie, but you seem to be the exception to the rule. Friends aren't exactly something I'm familiar with so I apologize if my people skills are rusty."

Addie shook her head and tried to pull her hands away but that just made Damon hold them closer to his face. She fought to remain firm with him but it was difficult when he looked at her so raw and exposed, "That was just plain inappropriate, not poor people skills."

He cast his crystal blue eyes down and had the grace to blush. "No, you're right," he consented. Damon pulled her hands away from his face and studied them as he gingerly held them. "I," he hesitated, shaking his head, "I think I need to put distance between us. Being so physically close to you so much is… taxing and every now and then I forget myself. You have no idea how hard it is for me to simply _not_ kiss you sometimes."

"Me sending mixed messages doesn't help that, I'm sure," she whispered, lightly squeezing his hands.

Damon chuckled, "So, I'm not completely insane. You were sending mixed signals."

"You're still completely insane," she smiled nervously.

He nodded slowly, "You're probably right. Those mixed signs?"

"I, well, I apologize," she sighed, again trying to pull her hands back but he still refused to let go.

"I don't want an apology," he murmured, interlocking their fingers. He softly squeezed until she looked at him and he gave her an impish grin, "I wouldn't mind an explanation. You could simply admit that you find me just so dashingly handsome that you can't resist yourself but you're conflicted about taking advantage of me."

Addie laughed, "Me? Take advantage of you?"

"What?" he looked at her confused. "Is it that hard to believe? I'm sure you've noticed my weakness for beautiful women."

Holding a hand to heart, she fluttered her lashes flirtatiously at Damon, "Did I just get put in the same league as the great Katherine Pierce?"

"Oh, puh-lease. She wishes she was in the same league as you, my Ads," Damon smirked, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Her beauty is as shallow as she is. Yours catches my eyes and continues all the way through you, capturing my mind and heart."

"You don't have a heart," Addie scoffed.

Damon rolled his eyes. Oh how wrong she was. "Let's pretend I do."

"Ooook," she said slowly, "then I'm gonna have to pretend you're not a vampire."

He licked his lips as he thought. "Ok," he nodded. "Let's pretend I'm not a vampire. Would the signals you've been sending me still be mixed?"

"Uh," she shook her head and frowned, "how about we don't play this game anymore?"

"This one question, Addie," Damon insisted, refusing to meet her eyes. "Tell me things would be different if I wasn't a vampire and I won't bother you anymore, I promise."

Leaning her head back she groaned, "Of course things would be different, Damon. You would be a normal 25-year-old; you wouldn't even be interested in me."

"Don't do that. Don't change the situation," he growled.

"Damon, you started changing the situation by asking me to consider how things would be if you weren't _you_," she pointed out indignantly.

He dropped his head to her knee again, "Fine. Just, everyone who they are, everything how it is, if I suddenly wasn't a vampire anymore, would you keep sending me mixed signals?"

Crossing her arms, Addie bounced her knee, knocking Damon's head off.

"Hey!" he scowled, rubbing his forehead.

"Who said I'm going to continue to give you mixed signals?" she challenged.

He felt like a gaping fish, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, searching for the right words. "Huh?"

Addie shrugged. "You heard me," she said hesitantly, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.

Damon nodded, standing up. "Alright then. Shallow we go?" He grinned, holding his arm out to her.

* * *

"Did you come with Damon?" came a voice from over Addie's shoulder.

Addie frowned, looking into her flute of sparkling white grape juice, "You know, he's right; you do judge a lot."

"I'm not judging," Bonnie denied defensively, coming to stand in front of the younger girl.

"Oh, I am definitely judging," grumbled Jeremy, appearing next to Bonnie. "You are not allowed to wear that," he lectured, waving his hand up and down to indicate his little sister's outfit. "Now that I think about it, you're not allowed to be Damon's date either."

She laughed, "Who do you think you are? Dad?"

"No but clearly someone needs to set some rules for you before you wind up pr-," Jeremy abruptly stopped talking seeing the dirty look he was getting from his sister.

"First off, dear brother," Addie said lowly, taking a step into Jeremy's personal space, "smart move, shutting up. I'm the good kid, remember? Secondly, you don't get to tell me who to date. If I recall correctly, you were ok with me seeing Damon."

Jeremy held up a finger and hissed, "Seeing him, not sleeping with him."

Addie raised her eyebrows at Bonnie who just shrugged and shook her head. She pinched the bridge of her nose and did her best to keep her voice as controlled and even as possible, "You got that I was sleeping with him from a dress?"

"And the heels, the gloves, the lipsticks," sneered Jeremy, ticking off each item on a finger.

Bonnie could read the anger rising in her best friend. She'd seen Addie and Jeremy actually resort to physical blows when they pissed each other off bad enough in the past. Jeremy wouldn't cause a scene knowing everything at stake tonight but the thin line Addie's lips were currently pressed into suggested that she just might if her brother kept it up. Damon had made it clear to her earlier that Addie wanted to know nothing about tonight. If Addie knew nothing, it was just possible that she might not know how important it was not to draw any attention to any vicinity that Bonnie may be in.

"Jeremy," Bonnie interrupted, putting a hand on his forearm, "you're sister isn't stupid enough to sleep with Damon. Besides, I think she looks very pretty. It's a masquerade! Half the fun is being someone you're not."

"We're not here for fun! We're here- ow!" Jeremy whined, as Bonnie's heel slammed into his big toe.

Addie looked between the two suspiciously, "Do I want to know what's going?"

"According to your boyfriend, no," Bonnie said simply.

"Who said he was my boyfriend? He's not my boyfriend!" Addie rattled off frantic.

The witch raised an eyebrow, "Defensive, much?"

"Considering we aren't dating, yes," she nodded.

"So, you either hate him that much or you like him that much," her best friend smirked.

Jeremy shook his head, "She hates him that much, plain and simple. Addie isn't dating Damon. Addie isn't dating anyone, ever."

Bonnie kicked him in the shins this time.

She stepped even closer to her brother and grabbed him by the knot in his tie, "I know you're my big brother but have you lost your fucking mind? You can't tell me who I can or not date or sleep with or anything! I love you but my god!"

Trying to squeeze in the small space between the two, Bonnie pushed at Addie's shoulders to back her away from Jeremy. "Addie," she pleaded, trying to communicate through eye contact, "please don't do this right now. Your brother is being an idiot and deserves it but I'm begging you to please wait until tomorrow to settle this. Please. You know I try not to come between you and Elena unless it is _important_. This is like that."

Addie scowled, letting go of her brother's tie. "Tomorrow," she warned her brother before turning and walking away.

Seeing Katherine across the room, Addie decided to head outside. Hopefully whatever Damon and everyone else was up to kept her far away from the vampire. Deciding the pond would most likely be deserted, she headed down the empty path towards it. A chill of dread shot through her when she felt cool, familiar fingers grasp around her wrist and pull her behind a bush.

"What the hell is going on?" hissed Elena.

Addie clutched at her sister's shoulder as she focused on regaining her balance in the stiletto heels. "Well, you almost just made me twist my ankle. Are you sure jeans and a long sleeve shirt are appropriate attire for this sort of affair?" she sneered at her older sister.

Elena rolled her eyes, "Screw the snide remarks, Addie. I know you guys are up to something and I want to know what."

She shrugged, "I can't help you. Damon has everyone else is up to something. Me? I'm just trying to avoid them and Katherine."

"Damon has a plan and everyone is involved but you?" Elena scoffed in disbelief.

"Yes. Apparently I'm the only one who learned from you and doesn't want to end up on Katherine's bad side." Addie took a bracing breath and squeezed her sister's shoulder, "Thank you for suffering your heartache. You should be glad to know that it is not in vain and that your little sister has finally learned from you and is for once taking your advice and staying away from Katherine."

Frowning at Addie, Elena shook her head, "Must everything be a joke to you?"

"I'm actually being completely serious but if you don't want my heartfelt thanks, well," Addie shrugged and turned to walk off but was stopped by her sister grabbing her wrist again.

"Where is everyone?"

Addie rubbed her chin in thought for a second before snapping her fingers, "Did I forget to mention that I am avoiding them?"

"Really not in the mood right now to deal with you being a smart ass," glowered Elena.

"And I'm never in the mood to deal with anything that is you. Grab another goon if you want answers. I told Damon I wanted nothing to do with his stupid plan so I know absolutely nothing," she replied simply.

Closing her eyes, Elena counted backwards from ten slowly. She swore her sister's goal in life was to perpetually piss her off. "You were at the boarding house all day. You have to know what's going on."

"I was upstairs the whole time. All the plotting went on down stairs. I'm sorry but I really can't help you, Elena," Addie said sincerely.

"As unhelpful as you are," Elena muttered, "I'm glad you're being safe. I was kind of worried about Damon becoming a bad influence on you."

Addie grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, well, I know he _says_ vampires can't get STDs or reproduce but you know you can't be too careful when it comes to safe sex. He says I'm being paranoid but it _is_ Damon. I mean, am I being paranoid? Did you and Stefan use condoms?" Addie covered her mouth to hide the smile she couldn't fight as she watched her sister rotate between varying shades of putrid green, beet red, and finally completely pale. "I'm sorry," she whispered, horrified, her words muffled behind her hand. "Was that too personal? I thought we could talk about this. Jeremy would try and kill Damon if I told him."

"My own sister is sleeping with Damon Salvatore," Elena muttered to herself, stealing Addie's nervous habit of running her fingers through her hair. "How did this - how could you do this to me?"

"Wait, what?" Addie froze, expecting a whole range of reactions but not that. "First of, how can you possibly believe I would actually sleep with Damon? Secondly, to you?! How would me having sex with Damon be doing anything to you?"

Elena sneered at her, "Like you don't know. You've read my diary!"

Addie scoffed, "Are you fucking serious?! You - you _bitch_! No, uh-uh. You don't get to play that card! You don't get to do that. You think just because Katherine said you can't be with Stefan Damon is ok with being your second choice? Do you have any idea how bad you hurt him? Do you even care about how much that would hurt Stefan?"

"I would never go after Damon!" Elena snapped.

"Oh, but I can't be with him because you're jealous? Yeah, you _really_ care about him," Addie spat with disgust. "God! I can't even… ugh! You know, I never thought I would actually be ashamed that you are my sister. Were we raised by two different set of parents because I don't remember being raised to be so selfish."

"Because you're so much better! If you were really my sister, you wouldn't be trying to hurt me by being with Damon!"

Before Addie could retort, she saw Jeremy appear, his face twisted in anger and disgust. Bonnie was with him, shooting daggers at Elena.

"What the hell are you doing here Elena? Did I seriously overhear you two fighting over _Damon_?" he growled.

"Here's someone who can actually help you," Addie glared at Elena, her cheeks hot and eyes stinging. "I'm out of here," she snipped, giving her sister the middle finger before turning to storm back up to the house.

Jeremy quickly followed her, pulling at her wrist to stop her before she made it back to a more populated area. She spun back towards him and slapped his hand off of her. "I really wish people would stop that!" she cried out, stomping her foot.

"I'm sorry," her brother said quickly, holding up his hands defensively. "I just," he shook his head and held his arms open to his baby sister, shrugging slightly. "You look like you need a hug."

Reluctantly, she nodded and stepped into Jeremy's welcoming embrace. "I hate her," she sniffled, not caring that she sounded like a petulant child.

"No you don't," he insisted, rubbing her back comfortingly. "You guys just don't always get along."

She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder, "Will you tell me the truth if I ask you something?"

"Um," Jeremy hesitated, "you're kind of upset already. I don't want to make you more upset if you don't like the truth." Trying to lighten the conversation, he joked, "I'd feel really bad if I made you cry and screw up your makeup."

Addie laughed a little, mostly to make her brother feel a little more comfortable. "I promise not to cry. I just need the truth. Would it be awful of me to want to be with Damon because I actually like him and to ignore the fact that Elena is jealous?"

Jeremy shifted his weight, not entirely comfortable with the topic, "This is just from my perspective but I wouldn't think any less of you. Do I wish you were interested in a guy who wasn't a vampire and a little, well, a lot, younger? Yes. _But_ I can see that you like Damon."

"I'm not 100% certain that I do," she protested.

He laughed, "Well, I'm pretty sure you do."

Blushing, she groaned, "Is it that obvious?"

"Only because I know you better than anyone else in the world. You tend to keep to yourself. Well, I mean, you hang out with Bonnie and me. And Elena and Caroline when you get roped into it. However, you've been spending a lot of time with Damon," Jeremy pointed out, a slight hint of teasing in his voice.

"We've been working together," she sighed.

Jeremy laughed, "Ad, you don't have to explain yourself to me. But you and I both know Damon isn't exactly the easiest person to get along with. Neither are you, for that matter."

"Shut up."

"If the two of you have been successfully working together, that has me more convinced that you both like each other," he continued, as if she hadn't interrupted him.

"You really think he likes me?" she whispered.

"He definitely cares about you," he grinned. Jeremy chuckled and couldn't help but tease her, "Addie has a crush on Damon! Addie and Damon sitting in a tree-"

Addie, scarlet in the face, pushed Jeremy away from her, "You're so mean! Shut up!"

"Sorry," he shrugged, though not sounding at all like he was. "Look," he said, turning serious, "I don't know the full details and I don't want to. It's really none of my business. However, from what I've seen, Elena had the chance to be with Damon and she turned him down. She doesn't get to be jealous that he moved on. If you have to like him and he really likes you, I want you guys-"

A shrill scream cut through Jeremy's soliloquy. Both siblings paled, recognizing it as Elena's. Turning, they both raced the short distance back down the path to where Bonnie was sitting Elena down at a picnic table, Addie a few steps behind due to the damn heels Katherine picked out.

"What happened? What's going on?" Jeremy asked.

Addie stepped back at seeing a spreading patch of red on her sister's back. Elena gave another piercing scream as blood soaked through the sleeve of her purple shirt. Jeremy took off his suit jacket and pressed it firm against the patch of blood on her back.

"It's Katherine. She's linked to Katherine! Get them to stop now!" cried Bonnie.

"Where are they?" Addie asked, already backing away

"Top of the stairs, second door on the left!" Jeremy barked out.

Nodding, she ran as well as she could in the stilettos, weaving through the party goers. With many "excuse me"s and "oh, I'm sorry"s she eventually found herself in the opening of the door Jeremy spoke of.

"Stop!" she cried out, taking in the scene in front of her. Chairs were overturned and broken. Someone had obviously been thrown into the decorative table against the wall. Built-in shelves had caved in on the other side of the room. More troubling were the room's occupants. Stefan, flat on his back seemed to have Katherine lying on top of him in some kind of choke hold, her chest perfectly exposed for Damon to stake.

Damon's eyes flashed over to Addie, the fear on her face freezing him, his arm already poised to send the wood in his hand straight through the center of Katherine's heart. He faltered, straightening up a little. "Get out of here, Addie," he growled.

"No," she said firmly, walking closer towards him. "You can't stake her, Damon!"

"Watch me," he snarled, raising his arm again.

"You'll kill Elena!" she rushed out, grabbing at the back of his tuxedo jacket. "Everything you're doing to her is hurting Elena! They're linked."

Stepping back, Damon looked over his shoulder at Addie, his stomach twisting uncomfortably at the unshed tears and fear in her wide eyes.

"What?" Stefan whispered in disbelief, his grip on Katherine releasing.

The female vampire smirked, dusting herself off as she stood up, "You think you two are the only ones with a witch on your side? Wrong and something tells me that my witch is better than your witch." Snatching the stake from Damon's hand, Katherine dragged it along the palm of her hand, blood weltering out down the path she drew. "Just a little more pressure," she grinned, pushing the object deeper into her hand.

Addie whimpered, "Please stop."

Katherine looked up at her and smiled, as if just seeing her, "Why, Addie, you simply look gorgeous tonight. I love that dress." She positioned the weapon back over her hand, which had already healed but wouldn't have on Elena, "I will gladly stop as soon as they give me the moonstone."

Reaching out, Addie wrapped both hands around Damon's biceps, feeling it tense as he glared at his ex-girlfriend. "Please," she begged him, "just give her the stupid rock. Elena's getting hurt!"

Damon shook his head, refusing to look at Addie because he knew he would cave, "No."

She opened her mouth to plead with him but before she could say anything, there was a sharp crack to the back of her skull, making her head rattle and causing her to accidentally bite down on her tongue. Pain radiated up and down her back. The tears of fear began to fall when she tried to breath in but felt something constricting her windpipe. Through blurry eyes, Addie could see Katherine very close in front of her.

"Let. Her. Go," Damon snarled, ejecting a stake from under his suit jacket.

"Uh-uh-uh," grinned Katherine, shaking a finger at Damon. "Hurt me and you hurt your precious Elena."

Damon frowned, not answering right away. "If you don't let Addie go right now, I'm just going to have to deal with that."

"No," Addie was just able to choke out, lights starting to dance in front of her eyes. Katherine's gripped loosened just enough for her to get in and out tiny bits of air.

"You hear that?" the vampire asked sweetly. "I don't think your girlfriend would be too happy about if you did that, Damon."

He stalked towards them, tossing the wood back and forth between his hands, "Perhaps not but neither she nor I are going to particularly happy if you kill her."

"That's cute," Katherine laughed, her grip on Addie's throat tighter than ever. "You actually think I'm afraid of you."

"You should be," he growled, rush at her, the stake raised.

Her vision had blacked out around the edges, making Addie feel as if she was looking through a tunnel. Having become too heavy to support, her head lolled to one side. It took all the energy she had to croak out one word, "Don't."

He froze, pale and anxious at how weak she was. Unable to bear it, he looked away from her and focused on Katherine, "Let her go, Katherine. She has nothing to do with this."

"Oh, Damon, you're so naive. She has everything to do with this. You love her and that's the only thing that's keeping you from killing me," Katherine shrugged simply.

"Then it would be very stupid of you to kill her," he sneered.

She nodded in agreement, "It would be but maybe I don't want to kill her. I know you; you're a lot more scared than you would be if you thought I was just going to kill her, Damon. My guess is that your blood is probably running through her veins right now. Maybe I want to turn her. Give her to you for all of eternity. Wouldn't that make up for last century and a half?"

"Release her now or I don't care what she says or want, I will ram this stake right through you," he threatened, raising the weapon again.

"I was just trying to be nice," Katherine sighed, slackening her grip on Addie's throat and smacking her face gently. "Wakey, wakey, Addie."

She took in slow, deep breaths, aware of of Katherine's hand on her throat, still keeping her pinned to the wall. Eventually she opened her eyes, blinking a few times to regain focus. She groaned, seeing Damon still holding the stake.

"That is a beautiful necklace," Katherine said slowly, a hint of a threat underlying her sweet tone.

Addie's eye flickered to Damon, who nodded encouragingly. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "It was a gift from Damon. He thought it would look well with my dress."

Katherine turned to Damon and raised an eyebrow, "Since when do you know how to pick out jewelry?"

"I've always been able to," he smirked, "I just never bothered to really spend the time thinking about it on you."

She frowned at him, tightening her grip on Addie's throat again, "The girl or the moonstone, Damon?"

"Fine!" he snapped, seeing the fear in Addie's eyes as more tears spilled and her face started to turn red.

Katherine held out her free hand to him but he shook his head. "Bonnie Bennett has it," he shrugged.

"Well get it from her," Katherine growled.

"Let Addie go and I'll make the call," replied Damon, fishing his cell out of his pocket.

She dropped her hand from around the girl's throat and crossed her arms, looking at Damon expectantly. She watched as he scrolled through his contacts, found the number and pressed dial. He turned his back to her when she smirked superiorly at him.

Addie rubbed her neck, frowning at Katherine, "You were going to kill me."

The vampire turned to the girl, having barely heard her, and mumbled back, aware that Stefan could be listening, "I was going to do whatever it takes to get the moonstone. Lucky for us both, you came along and seemed to be just the motivation Damon needed."

Speaking of Damon, he turned back, ending the call. "Go get the stone," he said to Addie.

She shook her head, "No. I don't trust you alone with Katherine."

Damon huffed and rolled his eyes, "I'm not going to kill her. I just agreed to give her the fucking stone! Isn't that what you wanted me to do?"

"Yeah," Addie nodded, "but I know you don't want to. So, I don't exactly trust that you're not going to kill her instead."

He shrugged, "It would be a lie if I said the idea hadn't crossed my mind."

"No surprise. As much as I want to smack my sister right now, I don't want her dead. You staking Katherine would kind of kill Elena, in case you forgot," Addie pointed out snidely. "I heard you already tell Bonnie to bring the stone; she's probably already on her way. I wouldn't find her in the crowd, anyways."

"Ok," he sighed slowly, his patience thin, "then just leave. I don't want you around _her_."

Katherine pouted, taking a seat on the sofa, "I have a name."

"I don't want you around the evil slut vampire," Damon amended.

"Can you believe he use to be so sweet and polite?" Katherine asked Addie.

Addie raised her eyebrows, walking around Damon and sitting on the opposite end of the couch. Thoughtfully, she answered, "No. I imagine him as quite boring that way."

"He most definitely was," Katherine grinned.

Damon shook his head, "Oh, that Damon died a _long_ time ago."

"Good," Katherine smirked, "he was a bore."

Stefan spoke up for the first time, clearly annoyed, "Oh, why don't you two stop antagonizing each other? What do you even want with the moonstone, Katherine?"

"You're wasting your breath," Damon muttered, fixing himself a drink.

Katherine simply smiled at Stefan.

"You know," Stefan continued, ignoring his brother, "this whole Mason thing has me a bit confused. Why a werewolf? The moonstone can break a curse that would help them destroy all vampires. So what's in that for you?"

Damon interrupted, a wicked grin on his face as he mocked Katherine, "Sorry about your pet wolf, probably should have kept him on a tighter leash."

"I'll have to remember that for next time," she grinned back, unphased. "He's not the only wolf in town."

Addie felt her stomach knot uncomfortably at this statement. "Where is Bonnie?" she fretted, desperate for the night to be over.

"We could play charades," suggested Katherine.

"You bargained the moonstone," Stefan muttered quietly to himself.

Turning from poking at the invisible barrier at the doorway, Damon frowned at Stefan, "What are you mumbling over there?"

Stefan pointed an accusatory finger at Katherine, "When you struck a deal with George Lockwood to help you fake your death, you told me you gave George something that he needed: the moonstone."

Katherine clapped slowly three times, "Good for you, Stefan. You managed to remember what I said. And it would have worked," she continued darkly, "except that people found out that I wasn't in the tomb." She looked at Damon and scowled, "Thanks to you by the way. Have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?"

"Mmm," he acknowledged, holding up his tumbled and taking a sip. "You and me both, honey."

"Why do you need it back?" Stefan interrupted.

Addie felt a quick glare from Katherine. She scowled at the carpet in anger. How could Katherine be mad at her? Addie wasn't the one asking questions nor was she the one stupid enough to fall into a trap and put herself into a position to be quizzed.

Katherine stood up and walked over to Stefan slowly. "In 1987 you were in Chicago," she started, desperate to get him off topic, "at a concert, of all places, with that wench, Lexi. Come on, Stefan," she smiled, flicking his tie. "Don't look so surprised. Of course I checked in on you over the years. You were standing in the front row dancing all night. _You_ were watch Bon Jovi and _I_ was watching you."

"Who were you running from?" he deduced.

She just smiled at him and mouthed, "Love you."

Addie's eyes met Damon's across the rooms, both holding back a grin as they rolled their blue eyes at the same time. She got up and followed Damon to the table that held various crystal decanters of alcohol.

"You ok?" she asked softly, watching him pour another measure of amber liquid.

"No," he scowled before draining the glass in one long pull. "She's suppose to be dead right now." He sighed and placed a hand on the small of her back, rubbing slight, "Are you ok?"

She shook her head, "I'm almost tempted to let you kill her just because I'm pissed off at my sister."

He raised an eyebrow hopefully.

"Tempted," she emphasized. "I'm pretty sure I would regret it in the morning."

"Ugh! Definitely have had those nights," he grimaced. He poured more scotch into his glass before holding it up to eye level for inspection. "You'd be surprise at the people alcohol makes attractive. In fact, I'm almost to the point where I can tolerate Katherine's voice without wanting to stake her every time she opens her mouth," he muttered.

Spying Damon looking comfortable with his arm around Addie's waist, she couldn't resist interrupting. She was pleased to see him tense as soon as she spoke, "I'll have one of those."

"Right away, Miss Katherine," he answered sweetly, early reminding himself and the other two vampires of just how he would have sounded 145 years ago. Mentally, he slapped himself as he poured her a glass. "I lied. I haven't had nearly enough to drink," he muttered to Addie. He held out the glass to Katherine as she passed by.

"Thank you," she smirked.

Damon grabbed her by the throat and shoved her against the wall. He made to stake her, but suddenly Addie was in the small space between him and Katherine.

"No, no! Damon, don't!" she begged.

Katherine smiled wickedly, placing a free hand on Addie's shoulder to hold her in place, "Yes, Damon, please."

The wooded weapon still in his hand, he wrapped an arm Addie's waist and pulled her to him. Letting go of Katherine, he took a step back. "The second the spell is lifted, I'm gonna drive a stake right through your heart," he hissed threateningly.

"God, you're hot," Katherine smirked. "When did you get so hot?"

He felt Addie stiffen against him but he squeezed her reassuringly. "Sorry, I'm taken," he sneered. "Besides, I'm just not into evil vampire whores," he shrugged.

Katherine opened her mouth for a nasty retort when her witch, Lucy, appeared in the doorway. Seeing the moonstone in her hands, she crossed to her, forgetting all about Damon.

Lucy walked into the room, her face covered with a smug grin as she proudly displayed the beautiful stone "Katherine, the spell on this room has been broken. You're free to leave."

"Thank God," the vampire sighed. She held out her hand and demanded, "Moonstone."

"When I hand this over my debt to you is over," Lucy clarified.

"Done," Katherine agreed.

"I owe you nothing."

Katherine huffed impatiently, " I said done. Give it."

"I wouldn't do that," Damon told Lucy, pointing at the rock.

The witch ignored him and dropped the moonstone into Katherine's expectant hand. She wrapped her fingers around it smirking for a moment, but she began emitting small gasping and choking sounds. Uncurling her hand, she stared at the object as she fought to breathe.

"You should have told me another witch was involved. She's a Bennett witch, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that," Lucy spoke condescendingly at the vampire, watching as she battled for air, dropping to her knees and using an overturned couch to keep herself supported. Finally she turned to leave.

"Wait! Elena!" Stefan cried out, stopping her.

Lucy watched Katherine crumble to the floor, "Elena's fine. The spell is broken. She'll heal quickly; Bonnie's with her."

They all watched Katherine suffocate and finally lose consciousness.

"I apologize for my involvement," Lucy said quietly, turning to leave.

Addie stared at Katherine and briefly questioned if she was dead before reminding herself that she couldn't possibly be since she hadn't had her heart removed or been staked. "How long before she comes back around?" she wondered aloud.

"No idea so we better work fast," Stefan answered picking a wooden stake up from the ground and passing it to Damon.

Damon shook his head at the stake, "If you want her dead, you stake her."

"I thought you wanted her dead, too," Stefan hesitated.

"Now," he sneered at the body, "I have a better plan."

Addie looked at him warily, "That's my cue to leave. Do whatever you want with her, just don't let her loose, otherwise I will stake _you_."

"Don't worry," he grinned, an evil gleam in his eyes. "She's not going anywhere."

* * *

Walking to the window, Addie pulled apart Damon's curtains and twisted open the blinds. With the moonlight shining into the room, she switched off the main light. Sitting on her side of his bed, she undid her high heels and tugged out the rose pattern clip that had pinned up half of her hair. Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair. Spying the fingerless gloves, she ripped them off in disgust. Laying across Damon's bed, she waited for him. Damon had been out with Katherine for for nearly three quarters of an hour when Jeremy had dropped her off at the boarding house and that had been nearly two hours ago. She _thought_ she had heard him come in half an hour ago but he hadn't come up. She wasn't particularly in a rush for him to if he was downstairs.

"Hey," came Damon's voice, a few hours later.

"Hey," she mumbled back, feeling tired. Glancing at the clock she saw it was 1:26 in the morning.

He sat down next to her head, which was resting on his side as she laid across the bed width wise. "I've been home for hours. I didn't know you were up here. You should have texted me or something."

She shrugged, "I thought you might be home but I used the time to think, anyways."

"That's a lot of thinking time," he frowned, brushing a lock of dark purple hair our of her face

"Had a lot to think about," she smiled slightly, tugging at his tie. He wore it loose around his neck, the top two buttons of his shirt undone.

He bent down to take off his shoes and socks. "Katherine's gone, Ads. You shouldn't be worrying about a thing," he said, the happiness in his voice sounding forced. "Move it," he ordered, poking her in the side, making her squeal and squirm.

"Jerkface," she grumbled, turning to lay in the bed the right way. Resting on her side, she faced him as he laid down and mirrored her. Her lips twitched down as she could smell the alcohol strong on his breath. Reaching out, she grabbed his hand that rested on the mattress in between them. She bit her lip, wondering if she should say anything. "Victory not as sweet as you though?"

"You mean Katherine?" he asked, slightly confused.

She nodded hesitantly.

He laughed, "No, it's better. The bitch is finally where she should have been for the past 145 years. It is so satisfying."

"Then why don't you seem happy?" she muttered, squeezing his fingers.

He sighed, "It's a costly victory."

"How so?" pushed Addie.

"I drank my issue away," he pointed out. "I don't exactly want to talk about it."

She frowned at him, her lips pursed, "Yes, you clearly drank it away. _That's_ why you're not upset and are elated about besting Katherine."

"Fine," he grumbled, turning onto his back and looking at the ceiling so he didn't have to face her. "I don't want to lose you, Addie."

"Lose me?" she asked, thoroughly confused.

"We've hung out so much because you were working with Katherine, right?"

Addie hesitated, "Was I really working with her or was I trying to double cross her? I honestly got confused on what I was doing besides trying to make her think I was doing what she wanted while telling you everything she told me. I mean I started with an end goal of trying to actually get vampires out of Mystic Falls but then I guess I changed my mind so then I was just trying to stay alive…."

"You wanna try focusing, Ads?" he groaned.

Blushing, she cleared her throat, "Right, sorry. Yeah, I mean, we had to hang out a lot. Or at least, you were nice enough to hang out with me to help me follow through with what she told me to do and you advised me in dealing with her."

Damon nodded, "And now, well, what excuse do I have to hang out with you?"

"Didn't realize you needed an excuse to be around me," she mumbled, turning onto her back as well.

"That came out wrong," he said after a minute. "I mean that you don't have a reason to be around me anymore, so now I'm going to have to come up with excuses for us to be together."

"Didn't realize you needed an excuse to be around me," she repeated sharply.

He groaned, sitting up. "I like you," he sighed, splaying his hands out in front of him, just few inches apart. "I like hanging out with you," he said, repeating the motion. "We've only been hanging out because of Katherine. She's gone. Now, there's no reason for you to hang out with me anymore. I'm not exactly happy about that," he grumbled.

Addie looked at him from the corner of her eye; his eyes were closed and his face tense. She bit her lip and whispered, "You like me?"

Laying back down, Damon scoffed, "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Well," she stalled uncomfortably. "Did you not just notice I have a problem focusing?" she said defensively.

"Yes," he drawled out, "you must have gotten distracted every time I said so. And my very unmixed signs must have been very confusing for you."

"You're mean," she pouted. "I don't like you."

Damon snorted, "Yeah, I got that earlier when you told me 'no more mixed signals.'"

Addie frowned, "I'm kidding, Damon." She paused to scoot closer to him, "And that's not what I meant earlier."

He breathed out slowly, turning his head to face her, "I may have had a lot to drink tonight. You want to go ahead and run that by me again?"

"I think I - well, I know I like you," she mumbled.

His brow furrowed as he studied her, "You mean besides just being physically attracted to me?"

"Yeah," she confirmed, playing with the necklace he was letting her borrow.

"What does this mean?" he asked, rolling onto his side.

She looked at him nervously, " Why does this have to mean anything?"

He shook his head, "What are we going to do about it?"

"You could kiss me," she whispered.

Damon grinned, "Yeah?"

"If you wanted," she added quickly.

"Could I take you out? Like on a date?" he asked quietly.

She licked her lips slowly, uncertain of how to answer.

"Just one date, Ads. It's nothing serious," he promised. "If you don't like it, you can laugh at me and we'll completely forget it happened."

She laughed, rolling onto her stomach and tugging at his tie, "You promise I can laugh at you?"

"So sure you're not going to like it?" he quipped.

She shrugged, "When is the last time you went on an actual date?"

"When is the last time you did?" he countered.

"My point is that you don't know how to date," she smirked, rolling his tie around her finger.

He rolled his eye and pulled her close to him, "I _know_ how to date. You don't think I can be charming and entertaining and interesting and a complete gentleman for a few hours?"

"No," she grinned.

He sighed and shook his head, "I guess I'll just have to prove you wrong, say next Saturday afternoon?"

She nodded, "You're on. What are we doing?"

"A surprise," he smiled.

"I change my mind then," she said, crossing her arms.

He grabbed her bare shoulders and rubbed gently, "Just trust me on this one. I know exactly where I want to take you. It will be harmless fun; perfect for a first date."

"What do I wear?" she groaned.

"Whatever you're comfortable in," he shrugged. "But we'll be outside if that makes a difference."

"Ok," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Now," he muttered quietly, wrapping an arm around her waist," considering you're free of Katherine, you don't seem super excited either."

"I got into a fight with Elena tonight," she mumbled, tugging his shirt out from his pants.

Damon frowned as he lifted his hips to readjust his pants, "You guys always fight."

Addie fumbled with the buttons on his crisp white shirt, "Not like this. I'm still mad at her. I've never been so _disappointed_ in her."

He paused at this, "What did you guys fight about?"

"Um, you," she whispered.

"Me?" he asked in surprise.

She nodded, pushing his shirt open, "Do you want to hear about it?"

Damon squeezed her waist encouragingly, "I'm all ears."

"Well, it started with me screwing with Elena when she showed up at the party. I told her we were having sex," she mumbled, blushing hard, " and she somehow turned it around to that I was sleeping with you to hurt her."

He rubbed his forehead, "Ads, remember me mentioning having had too much to drink? I'm not fully following. And I am so sorry but I don't remember sleeping with you. I'm so sorry about that. I must have been really drunk."

"We never slept together, Damon," Addie said, patting his chest. "Don't worry, you didn't miss anything fun."

Damon laughed, "Good. I was more concerned about disrespecting you but yeah, nice to know I haven't blacked out and missed out on anything fun."

She raised her eyebrows at him before continuing with her story, "I said we were to make her feel awkward. Except she didn't feel awkward; she felt betrayed. She doesn't want me with you."

"Why not?" Damon muttered.

"Um, uh, that doesn't really matter," she lied, not entirely convinced that Damon didn't still have feelings for Elena.

Damon rubbed her arm, sensing her growing discomfort, "What is it?"

"She's jealous. She doesn't want me to be with you because she likes you! Happy? Elena likes you, just like you wanted," Addie sneered, twisting his tie.

He put his hand over Addie's and squeezed, "That was a long time ago. I don't care about Elena like that anymore, Ads. And it's so dumb for you guys to fight about me."

"It's not about you though. It's about her being a selfish bitch. She doesn't want to be with you because she likes someone better but she doesn't want me to because she likes you at all."

He shook his head, not trying to follow that, "Well, I don't want her; I want you. You want me, right?"

Addie nodded against his chest.

"Then just forget what she said," he concluded simply.

"It's her being mean and selfish, that bothers me. I'm not going to feel guilty; I already got over that during my thinking time."

Damon ran his fingers through her hair, "Does it really surprise you?"

Addie shrugged, "A little. I never thought she would be so selfish she wouldn't care about other people's happiness. I don't know."

He sighed, kissing her forehead. "Forget about it, ok? We're both really crappy at celebrating victory. I got the best of Katherine. You no longer have to listen to her. _And_ we have a date planned." He tilted Addie's face up towards him and caught her eye, "You have to admit that it's been a really exciting night."

"You're right," she grinned, leaning in to his lips. She frowned when caught his cheek. "Hey!"

"I've waited this long, I can wait until the right time," he smirked at her.

She crossed her arms, scowling at him, "And that would be…?"

"When I walk you to your door and kiss you good night on Saturday," he grinned cheekily.

"Fine. But you just put the pressure on by making me wait _and _telling me when to expect it. It better be a good one," she sulked.

"Mmm," he hummed smugly, "I think we both know the power of my kisses over you.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for your reviews, favorites, and follows. Your comments definitely make my day! (And the notification reminds that I need to write - I wish I could sit down and write 17k words in one-shot.) You guys are the best! **

**BTW: Any other authors having issue seeing story views or traffic graphs?**


	24. Chapter 27

Jeremy looked at his little sister in puzzlement as she appeared in the hallway the next morning, her hair still wet from the shower.

"What?" Addie scowled, looking down at her creased black slacks, pressed sky blue blouse and light blue Converse. "Does this suggest that I'm sleeping with the entire football team?"

"I'm sorry about that," her brother mumbled awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck, "I'm just not use to you looking so _grown up_."

"I'm not a little kid anymore, Jer," she pointed out, crossing her arms.

He shrugged, "Maybe not but you're always going to be my baby sister. What are you doing here anyways? I told Jenna you were spending the night with Bonnie."

"Damon brought me home around three. I'll avoid Jenna," Addie figured. "If I can't, I'll just say I felt bad for not being home yesterday with her and Bonnie brought me home but she must have been too drugged up on pain meds to remember me coming in."

Frowning, Jeremy shook his head, "But why did you come home? Did you and Damon get into a fight or something?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I - we just decided to put some space between us for now," she explained simply.

"What? I thought you guy liked each other," he muttered confusedly.

Blushing, she grinned, "We do. We're going out on Saturday. However, we've been spending a lot of time together to work together in dealing with Katherine so with her gone, we just thought some distance might be a good thing for both of us."

"Makes sense," he muttered. "It definitely wouldn't be, I don't know, _logical_, to be around someone you like a lot."

His sister laughed at this, "It's Damon and me. Does anything about the situation make sense?"

Jeremy's face scrunched up in thought, "Well, you both don't like people so I guess it kind of makes sense that you wouldn't want to be around each other _too_ much."

She considered this before clapping her brother on the back, "Thanks for that because I was really starting to think I've completely lost my marbles."

"Trust me," he nodded reverently, "you definitely have."

"Jerk," she mumbled, punching him lightly in the arm.

"Aww," he cooed, slinging an arm around her shoulder, "I love you too!"

Glowering, she tossed his arm off, "You're so mean,"

"Speaking of mean," he said quietly, pausing nervously, "have you seen Elena this morning?"

"Blessfully, no," Addie scowled.

Jeremy walked to his other sister's bedroom door and knocked, "Come on, 'Lena. You're going to be late." He knocked harder when there was no reply. Addie shrugged when he looked curiously at her. Slightly pursing his lips, Jeremy opened the door to see the bed had not been slept in. "Was she over at the boarding house last night?" he asked his little sister, looking over his shoulder.

Addie frowned in thought, "I don't think so but I mean, I suppose it's possible and I just didn't know. It's kind of a big house and I wasn't exactly on alert for her."

"Her bed wasn't slept in," he muttered, closing the door.

"Then I guess she was there," she shrugged, heading down the stairs and repositioning the backpack slung over her right shoulder.

Spying a sleeping Jenna on the couch, Addie carefully and silently slipped out the front door. She raked her fingers through her hair as she walked down the street to the bus stop. Damon hadn't mentioned anything about Elena being at the house and she knew her sister hadn't come back with Stefan.

"Carol Lockwood said her car is still at the estate," Jeremy informed her as he caught up, shoving his phone in his pocket.

Addie's stomach churned uncomfortably. She shrugged coolly and lied with a practiced ease, "I'm sure she'll show up at school with Stefan."

Her hands shaking slightly, Addie pulled her cell out of her back pocket. Tapping on it, she began to compose a text to Damon, who could hopefully reassure her about her sister's whereabouts.

_Addie:_ _Did my sister spend the night at your place last night?_

She tossed the phone back and forth between her hands, fairly certain that it was too early for the vampire to be awake. His kind were naturally nocturnal creatures; did he constantly battle a basic instinct to sleep during the day? It would be another question she would have to ask him.

* * *

It was halfway through her first period English class when she felt her phone go off in her pocket. Checking that elderly Mrs. Vantol was well absorbed into scrolling something onto the blackboard about the disappointment that was _Great Expectations_, she slyly slipped out her phone. She did her best to hide the device behind the kid who happened to be sitting in front of her.

**Damon: No. She pretty much redumped Stefan at the party last night after I left. Why do you ask?**

Addie shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Something was definitely wrong. Unfortunately, Mrs. Vantol had turned back to the class and she couldn't respond to Damon right away. It was another 45 minutes before the bell rang. Rushing out of class, she began writing back to him as soon as she was out of the door.

_Addie: Her bed wasn't slept in last night. I was hoping she was there. I'm starting to get worried._

Entering the biology room, she took her seat behind one of the large, black, wooden tables. She pulled out her lab journal and began to shade in alternating squares on the graph paper nervously. Jeremy walked in a fraction of a second before the bell rang and took his seat next to her.

"She wasn't with Stefan," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, opening his binder.

Addie nodded once, pressing her pen harder against the paper, "I know."

Jeremy was quiet for a few minutes, writing down what as much of the information Dr. Skinner spewed. Seeing his sister switch from a purple gel pen to a green one before continuing to color in squares, he sighed. Whispering, he told her what else he had leaned, "Stefan thinks Katherine is somehow involved."

The force of the pen running back and forth on the paper became so great that Addie tore through the sheet of paper. "Lovely," Addie sneered. "We get rid of the skank and she still finds a way to ruin our lives."

"Hey," he said gently, squeezing her wrist, "we'll get her back, Ad."

"Alive, dead, or as a blood sucking vampire?" she mumbled darkly.

He squeezed her wrist firmly, "Alive."

She shook off his hand, reaching for her phone, which vibrated against her thigh to alert her of a new text message.

**Damon: Stefan does too. We're meeting out front during your lunch period. **

Looking at the clock, Addie groaned; that was still two and a half hours away. Keeping the phone hidden in her lap she texted him back.

_Addie: You can't do anything sooner?_

He texted back immediately.

**Damon: You're in class, Ads. I know you're worried about your sister but no, there really isn't anything I can do sooner. **

She scowled, her grip on her phone tightening until her knuckles turned white.

_Addie: Do you even have a plan._

**Damon: Well, I have the next two and a half hours to think of one. I'll come up with something.**

* * *

Biology and math dragged by for Addie. When the bell rang for lunch lunch, she scurried out of the school. She would have told Jeremy about the meeting but he had Spanish right then as opposed to lunch. Stefan and Damon were already talking by the basketball courts near the parking lot. She jogged quickly over to them.

"This has Katherine written all over it," Stefan was saying.

Damon frowned, rolling up the sleeves of his black button up, "Katherine's in the tomb. Trust me, I'm the one who shut her in."

"Did you?" asked his younger brother lightly, taking a step closer to him.

He cocked his head challengingly, "Did I what, Stefan?"

"Well," Stefan repled smartly, crossing his arms, "I know the hold that Katherine has on you."

Damon glared at him, exasperated, "She's in the tomb, period. End of story." He hesitated, glancing at Addie, "But she did say something to me right before I shut her in. I thought she was lying."

"What did she say?" demanded Addie, looking at him skeptically.

"Elena's in danger," he sighed.

"What?" snapped Stefan. "And you didn't think you should ask her to elaborate?"

"Everything she says is a lie! How am I supposed to know if she's gonna start spouting out the truth?" he shot back defensively.

Addie shook her head and shrugged helplessly, "We have to go talk to her.

"No, no," Damon insisted firmly. "Let me tell you how that's gonna go: we're gonna go ask her for help, she's gonna negotiate her release, which we're gonna be dumb enough to give her and she's gonna get out and kill us! This is exactly what she wants!"

"I don't really care," Addie pushed. "I want my sister back."

Damon groaned, "Aren't you suppose to be pissed at her?"

Addie glared at him, "I am but that doesn't mean I want her dead!"

"It's a Elena," Stefan interjected, a tone of finality in his voice.

"It's a bad idea," Damon enunciated slowly, as if trying to reason with a two-year-old.

Addie ran her fingers through her hair and sighed, "What about a search and rescue mission not knowing the circumstances? I mean, negotiation or not, I doubt Katherine will tell us just under what circumstances she has Elena. Would you be willing to try and save her if we were just able to find out where she is?"

Stefan nodded, "Yeah but how are we suppose to find her?"

"I saw a locator spell in Emily grimoire when Bonnie let me look at it one day. I don't know if she can do it but Damon's right; going to Katherine isn't a good idea," Addie mumbled.

"Finally someone sees reason!" Damon exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

"Alright," Stefan agreed, frowning, "but Bonnie is in class the rest of the day. We won't be able to get started until school is over."

"She has second lunch period off and I know she has the grimoire on her," Addie pointed out. "I can catch up with her then."

Damon butted in, grimacing, "You can't; you have class."

Addie rolled her eyes, "My sister is missing. I think attending to that is a little more important than my being in class."

"I get that," Damon replied impatiently, "but you can't be found out of class. You'll just get into trouble and be sent to class. Stefan can meet up with Bonnie; he can compel someone if they question why he isn't in class."

The other vampire nodded, "I'm cutting as soon as we find out where she is, anyway."

She frowned, knowing they were right. "You'll have to meet up with Jeremy, too, then. He has the same lunch period. The spell requires the blood of a relative, if I remember correctly," she informed Stefan.

"Ok," he acknowledged, pulling his phone from his pocket. "Alaric doesn't teach at that time so he should be ok with us using his room."

Distantly, Addie could hear the bell ringing, signalling the end of lunch. She nodded slowly, "Right, well, I suppose I should get to class. You'll keep me updated, yeah?"

"Of course."

* * *

Stalking up the stairs, Addie frown. She turned into Jeremy's room, finding him and Bonnie sitting on the bed. Pulling out his computer chair, she spun it to face them, "Mr. Saltzman just left with Jenna. He said something about getting her out of the house for awhile so she doesn't ask questions about Elena."

"Good," Jeremy replied distractedly.

"Did I miss anything?" she asked, pulling her damp hair into a ponytail. They had come straight home after school but she had track practice.

Her brother held out his phone to her and she took it from him, a quizzical expression on her face. "Look at it," he urged. "I pulled it up based on the spot we found on the map. There's nothing for miles except for that old house."

Shed passed the cell back to her brother and asked, "Did you tell Stefan about it?"

"Yeah," he grimaced. The room was silent for a minute. "I hate sitting here, waiting like this," mumbled Jeremy, pulling at a loose thread in his comforter.

"Hey," Bonnie said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "she's going to be fine."

He shook his head, "You don't know that."

"No, I don't," she admitted.

It was quiet for several more moments, each one of them lost in their own horrible thoughts. Suddenly, Bonnie sprang up and rushed over to her handbag. Digging through it, she eventually found Emily's grimoire and moved back to Jeremy's bed already flipping through the book.

Addie watched her curiously, "What are you doing?"

"There's something else I want to try," Bonnie muttered, searching for the right page.

"I don't get it," Jeremy said slowly.

Bonnie shook her head and ordered either of the siblings, "I need a candle. Grab Elena's hairbrush."

"Ok, yeah," Jeremy answered, scrambling to his feet.

Grabbing a pad of paper and pen from the nightstand, Bonnie scribbled something on it. Hastily she tore the paper off. Addie watched her brother come back into the room and hold out the objects the which had requested.

"What's all this stuff for?" she asked skeptically.

"I know it crazy," Bonnie breathed, her dark brown eyes flickering to the younger girl, "but I might be able to get her a message."

Addie raised her eyebrows, "You tracked her using Jeremy's blood.. She's most likely been taken by vampires. Crazy is becoming more and more relative, Bon."

The witch tilted her head in agreement. Mentally, she lit the candle. Crumpling the paper, she held it in her open palm above the flame. Her eyes slid shut as she began to cast the spell under her breath. A thin, dark red line of blood began to flow from her nose.

"Bonnie!" Addie cried out. "Bonnie!"

"Bonnie?" Jeremy called shaking her. "Bonnie!"

The paper caught fire in her hand and eventually disappeared.

Jeremy looked at her hesitantly, "Bonnie?"

Her eyes, unfocused and glazed over, opened and she smiled slightly. Addie felt a wave of relief wash over her. At least until she saw Bonnie's eyes roll into the back of her head and watched her fall limply onto her brother's bed. She rushed over to her best friend, who Jeremy was already checking for a pulse.

"What the hell happened," she hissed.

"I don't know," Jeremy said defensively.

Addie shook her and called her name several times to no response. Panic filled her voiced as she looked at Jeremy, "What are we going to do?"

"Don't - don't panic, ok?" he said evenly, pushing his sister away from Bonnie. "I think she's just passed out. She'll wake up soon."

"You don't know that," Addie snapped, echoing his words of earlier.

He sighed, "Just trust me, Addie. We already have a missing sister to worry about. I'm sure Bonnie is going to be ok."

She sat back, taking a deep breath, "You're right. You're right."

"You look tired, Addie. Didn't you say Damon brought you home at like three? You couldn't have possibly slept well last night. Why don't you go take a nap?" Jeremy said gently. "I promise I'll wake you up if anything changes."

Addie rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. "You're right," she mumbled. "That's probably a good idea."

"Come on," he ordered, holding his hand out to help her up. She took it, frowning. He pulled her into a quick hug. "Everything is going to be ok,"

"Yeah," she nodded, leaving the room, "I'll wake up and everything will be back to normal. Or at least as normal as things get around here."

Addie pulled out her keys and unlocked the door to her room. Closing it, she debated turning on the lights and working on her algebra but decided against it. Bending down, she unlaced her Converse and took them off. She opened her closet and tossed the shoes in with the several other pairs of the same style shoes. Drawing the blackout curtain over the window, her room was plunged into darkness. Smiling slightly at the comforting, familiar glow of her plastic stars, she crawled into her bed, wrapping the bright blue and green checkered blanket around her shoulders. Pulling her favorite squishy pillow under her head she sighed. Thoughts of what could be happening to her sister tickled at her mind. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pushed the thoughts at bay, instead trying to calculate how far Damon and Stefan should have gotten by now. Theoretically, they shouldn't be too far away from the house. Feeling a bit of anxiety form, she let her feelings of sleepiness overcome her.

A soft knocking at the door that led to the bathroom woke Addie. She moaned, looking at her alarm clock for the time; 10:47. How had she slept for nearly six hours? Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she rolled out of bed and stumbled across her room to the sound, her hands out in front of her to keep from walking into anything. Finally feeling the door, she reached down to twist the knob. She squinted as bright light poured in when she cracked the door open.

"Hey, Addie," Elena waved slightly, looking down at her feet.

She frowned at her sister, grateful she was ok but still pissed at her. "Look who made it back, folks," she muttered, clapping sarcastically.

Her sister sighed, tucking a strand of straight brown hair behind her ear, "Can we talk?"

Addie shrugged but pushed the door open wider. Not looking to see what Elena was doing, she sat in her desk chair. Picking up a spare pen, she began to tap it on the tabletop.

"I suppose I owe you a thanks," Elena laughed bitterly, breaking the silence.

She spun the chair, seeing her sister leaning on the doorframe to the bathroom. "Why?" she scoffed.

In the shadow of the light, the rising and falling of Elena's shoulders was just visible. She admitted reluctantly, "Damon told me it was you who found me. Or, sort of, at least; it was your idea to use the locator spell."

"Oh, that," she mumbled with distaste. "Well, I couldn't have someone else torturing you. That job is reserved for me. I mean, that is the whole reason I agreed to go on a date with Damon Saturday."

Elena huffed, crossing her arms, "Look, Addie, I'm sorry about last night. I know you aren't going after Damon just to hurt me. You're better than that; you must care about him as well."

"But you still think part of me is going after him to hurt you?" snarked Addie.

She nodded, "We don't exactly have a reputation for being the nicest to each other or being particularly considerate of each other's feelings. However, just because you're a bitch to me that doesn't mean you're a general bitch."

"Touching. Wish I could say the same for you," Addie smiled sweetly.

"I'm not-"

Addie cut her off, shaking her head, "You don't like the idea of Damon and me being happy because you're jealous. After what you've done to him, don't you think he deserves to be happy? Not wanting that for him because you're jealous kinda makes you a bitch, Elena."

"No," she objected, "it means I have feelings. I want him to be happy, I just prefer it not be with my little sister!"

Addie laughed, "Because you're jealous!"

Elena sneered at her. "No," she lied. "I don't want you with him because you're just his back up choice and I don't want you to get hurt."

She frowned at her sister. It wasn't like she hadn't already considered this possibility more times than she could count. To her, it was obvious that Elena was lying but she knew her sister would never confess that she was simply jealous. Addie shrugged, still angry but not in the mood to fight, "Thanks for looking out for me but if I get hurt, then it's on my own head. I'm well aware of who Damon is."

"Don't come crying to me when he hurts yous. All I'm going to do is tell you 'I told you so,'" her sister warned.

"Right," Addie nodded. "In the mean time, would it kill you to act like a big sister and at least pretend to be happy for me?"

Elena was silent for a few minutes, studying her sister, "Ok, Addie. We'll go shopping this week to find you a new outfit for your date, yeah?"

Addie snorted, "You can scale it back about 50%."

"I'm serious," Elena shrugged. "It's your first date; you should be super excited about it. Mom would have wanted to be here," she finished sadly. "Let me be there for you."

Damn guilt trips. "Fine," Addie mumbled. "Can I go back to bed now?

Elena turned around, closing the door to the bathroom behind her.

Sitting in the dark, Addie scowled and muttered to herself, "Jealous, two-faced troll."

* * *

Thursday morning, Addie stared in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. She frowned as her sister appeared next to her, bumping her hip and grinning at her in the mirror. Elena had been extra nice to Addie since Monday and it was starting to get on her nerves. She couldn't tell what angle her sister was working but her niceness was clearly an act.

"Want to go with me to figure out why I was kidnapped?" Elena asked, picking up her makeup bag.

Finished brushing her teeth, Addie spit the cinnamon flavored toothpaste into the sink. "What do you mean?" she questioned skeptically, before cupping water into her mouth and swishing it around.

Elena shrugged innocently, dusting on some blush, "I was going to go question Katherine."

Spitting the water out, she gave Elena a look of disbelief, "She's not going to tell you anything."

"Well, for a few home comforts and a book on her family's heritage…" Elena trailed off smirking.

Addie pursed her lips, trying not to laugh, "I don't think she's exactly the sentimental type. You're gonna need more than that."

Elena frowned, "So, what do you suggest?"

"She's going on her what? Fourth day without blood now? I can't imagine that to be too comfortable," Addie mused.

"You want me to give her blood?"

"A sip for every question she answers, perhaps? You're only going to get her to talk if you give her something she wants and she must be starving by now," Addie commented helpfully.

Elena nodded slowly, "Makes sense. Where am I supposed to get the blood though?"

"Ask Stefan for a blood bag," she muttered, tugging a brush through her hair.

Her sister scoffed, "You actually think he would give me one? He couldn't even let me see her!"

Addie paused at this, "Have you thought any of this through? How do you plan on getting the door opened?"

"I have!" Elena protested. "I was hopping on blackmailing Caroline into opening it."

"Blackmail some blood from her, while you're at it," Addie mumbled.

Elena frowned, "I don't think my blackmail stretches that far. Besides, I don't really want her to know too much."

"Then exactly how are you going to get the blood?" she challenged.

"Well," her sister hesitated, "do you think you could get some from Damon?"

Addie rolled her eyes, "Your whole point of inviting me was to use me, wasn't it?"

"I swear, it wasn't," Elena answered quickly, pulling the wand of mascara away from her eye. "You were the one who pointed out that I would need blood."

"You could have been playing stupid," she pointed out, dropping her brush.

"I wasn't," her sister scowled. "Are you willing to help me get the blood or not?"

Addie shook her head, "He's not going to just hand me a blood bag, no questions asked."

Elena bit her lip nervously, "Well, will he give it to you if he know what you're doing with it?"

"I don't know. He was pretty against the idea of going to talk to her when you went missing."

"Will you at least try?" Elena pleaded.

"Fine," she grumbled. "I'll ask him about it when I see him Saturday."

"Actually," Elena drew out, repacking her makeup bag, "I was thinking we could go see her today. Stefan already called and wants we to come over this morning. I can give you a lift and you can ask Damon."

Addie groaned, "I liked it better when you were just mean."

* * *

Addie stood uncomfortably behind Elena as she knocked on the door to the boarding house. A split second later Damon opened the door.

"Hello, Elena," Damon grinned. "And Addie?" he said in wonder upon seeing her.

Elena lifted her purse higher onto her shoulder, "Is Stefan here? He called. He said it was important."

"Right this way," Damon gestured into the house, stepping aside so they could enter. "What are you doing here?" he muttered sharply to Addie catching her elbow as she passed by.

"My sister is up to something and I need to play babysitter," she seethed quietly.

Damon's crystal eyes narrowed, "I thought you were mad at her."

Addie nodded, "I definitely am but I'm not going to let her go and question Katherine alone. She'll get herself killed."

"What?" he hissed angrily. "You're both going to get killed. Besides, Katherine isn't going to answer _anything_."

"We'll be perfectly safe if we stay outside the tomb. And I know she won't; that's why I need your help. A tiny bit of blood for every question she answers," Addie explained in hushed tones.

"No," he growled back. "She'll just lie to you."

Addie shrugged, "I expect that but I'd rather be with my sister then let her face Katherine alone."

Damon groaned quietly.

"If you don't give me the blood, Elena will just use her own," Addie bluffed.

"Fine," he sneered. "When do you need it?"

"By the time we leave," she whispered. "If you could just slip it into her purse or something? Stefan will never let her go if he finds out what she's up to."

"And he shouldn't," Damon snapped. "I don't even want you going and your way more capable of handling Katherine."

She snarled at him, "I'm a big girl, Damon."

"I know," he sighed, letting go of her, "and that's why I'm going to help you."

Smiling slightly, she looked him in the eye, "Thank you."

He grimaced, turning to Elena, feeling her eyes on them. Damon frowned at her, "Stefan's in the living room. Run along."

"What did you decide?" she asked quietly.

He nodded, barely perceptible, "As long as Addie's in charge."

Elena scowled but eventually nodded.

Addie smacked Damon in the Abs with the back of her hand, making her hand sting against the hard flesh. She growled at him, "I don't want to be in charge."

"Too bad," he shrugged. "I trust you to be in more control around her."

"Hey," said Stefan curiously, appearing from the living room. "What's going on out here?"

Elena shook her head, "Nothing. Why did you call? What's this about?"

A woman with short brown hair and tanned skin appeared behind Stefan, causing Elena to gasp.

"I'm guessing more vampires?" Addie muttered.

"It's not like that," Damon said carefully, placing his hand on the small of her back. "I think we'll all be a lot more comfortable in the living room."

The woman, Stefan, and Elena all headed to where Damon suggested. He pushed at Addie's back to encourage her to follow but she dug her heels into the floor.

She shook her head, brushing his hand off of her, "I think I've hit my lifetime limit for vampires."

"Come on," Damon sighed, grabbing her hand. "You need to know this for what you're going to do."

She groaned, letting him pull her into the room, "Why do I keep getting myself into these situations?"

"Because you are the worst possible thing in the word: a caring sibling," he snickered.

"I really should learn not to give a damn," she mumbled.

He laughed, "It does make life much easier but you're too sweet to ever be so calloused."

They dropped hands when they entered the room with the others. Addie sat down next to her sister while Damon sat on the arm of the opposite couch.

"Ok," the woman started nervously, pacing a few steps back and forth behind Damon, "you have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true. That's the problem with all this vampire crap but Klaus, I know he's real."

"Who is that?" Elena interrupted.

"He's one of the originals. He's a legend," Damon stressed, rolling his eyes.

Stefan added helpfully seeing Addie's and Elena's confused faces, "From the first generations of vampires."

Addie's eyebrows knitted together as she recalled something her sister had mentioned the day after she was kidnapped. "You mean like the vampire Elena was handed off to?" she asked slowly.

"No," the female vampire answered sharply, shaking her head. "Elijah was the Easter bunny compared to Klaus. He's a foot soldier. Klaus is the real deal."

"Klaus is known to be the oldest," Stefan supplied.

"Ok," Elena nodded slowly, "so you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?"

"Yes," answered the vampire Addie didn't recognize while Stefan answered simultaneously in the negative.

"What they're saying is," spoke Damon, louder than the other two, "I mean if what she's saying is true-"

The woman sighed and interjected, "Which it is."

"And you're not saying it so I don't kill you," Damon continued mockingly sweet, glaring at her

She held up a finger, pausing him, "Which I'm not."

Damon turned his focus back to Elena, his tone softer, "Then we're looking at a solid maybe."

"Look, Elijah's dead, right? So no one else even knows that you exist," Stefan pointed out.

Addie frowned, this thinking seemed blatantly naive in her opinion. If someone had already known to kidnap Elena, it was doubtless that others did too.

"Not that you know of," countered the unfamiliar vampire.

Damon sniffed and left the room, calling over his shoulder, "That's not helping."

"Look," Stefan said again, "I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bedtime story."

"Then why did Elijah want my sister?" Addie challenged.

He stared at her for a moment, "Now _you're _not helping."

Addie cocked her head towards him in mock confusion. "I'm sorry," she offered quickly, "I thought we were having a realistic discussion about this problem. Nobody warned me that this was just a comfort session."

Stefan shook his head at her, his hair so gelled that not a strand moved, "We're being realistic, Addie."

"If you really think that, you're being naive," she countered. "Two vampires already knew to kidnap Elena as Katherine's doppelganger. Who's to say they didn't tell others? Elena said one got away, yeah? What's to stop that one from trying again and reaching out straight to this Klaus fellow? Truth is, Katherine was being hunted down so badly that she had to fake her own death. That makes me think there are a lot of old vampires that know her face. I think Katherine found Elena for some reason and two other vamps did, too. Katherine said she's in danger. I'm betting all those vampires once chasing Katherine are after anyone looking like her."

The female vampire cleared her throat and gave Addie a curt wave, "We weren't introduced. I'm Rose. I kidnapped your sister. For the record, Trevor and I didn't tell anyone about Elena; we wanted the credit for handing her over. I'm not stupid enough to try again and to try and make contact with Klaus. He kills randomly for sport. He's real and he doesn't give up. If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus then you're an idiot."

"Alright," Damon sighed dramatically, returning to the room, passing by Addie and Elena on the couch, "we're shaking. You made your point."

Elena stood up, pulling her purse onto her shoulder. Addie watched her sister take a few steps towards the doorway that led out the living room before getting up and following her. Stefan appeared in front of her sister, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Where are you going?" he demanded inquisitively.

"School," Elena answered slowly. "We're late."

Stefan nodded, dropping his hand, " Let me grab my stuff. I'll go with you."

"It's ok. I know where it is," she replied coolly, leaving the room.

"She's in denial," Damon muttered to Rose.

Addie spun on her heel, glaring at him. "It's your fault she's not taking this seriously," she hissed. "You're making jokes and making it seem like this Klaus is just a joke when you know he probably isn't. Remember Katherine? Remember how my sister didn't take her very seriously, either? You and Stefan coddle Elena, leaving her to underestimate vampires. Because of you twits, she forgets that vampires are inherently bad."

"Someone's grumpy," Damon smirked.

She sneered at him, "No, I'm pissed off because your ego shines brighter than the sun. You're so blinded by it that you can't even see that this problem is way out of your league."

"No-"

She held up her hand, stopping him. "Save it," she muttered, turning back around and heading out of the house.

* * *

Parked just off onto the side of the road near the ruins of the old church, Addie and Elena stood outside the elder's car, waiting for Caroline. Balancing an empty bottle on the roof of her car, Elena poured the blood from a blood bag into an empty water bottle. Addie turned away from the sight and looked down the road.

"How did Damon even get this into my purse?" Elena mumbled curiously, her tongue poking out between her lips in concentration.

Addie pondered this, "He left the room and came back at one point. I didn't see anything in his hands but he's slick. I bet he put it in then; he did pass by us."

"Huh. I didn't even notice," Elena muttered, carefully topping off the bottle.

Addie snorted, "That was kind of the point. Pretty sure Stefan would have started asking questions if Damon just handed one of us the blood bag."

"True," her sister agreed, twisting the cap back on. "Thanks for getting him to give it to me, by the way."

Addie crossed her arms and looked back at her sister, "Technically, he gave it to me. He put me in charge of it?"

"You seriously want to do a power struggle right now?" Elena spat.

"Down, girl," Addie snapped, holding her hands up innocently. "I just want some of what I helped get. You're not the only one with questions for Katherine."

Elena nodded after a minute of consideration, "Fine. Fair enough. I brought a small cup we can pour it into."

"Only ever give her enough to taste it," she advised. "We don't need to run out or need her getting strong enough to decide to stop cooperating."

"Been taking tormenting lessons from Damon?" Elena snipped, raising her eyebrows.

"No," Addie sneered, "I planned that ages ago, back when I decided I wanted to lock you up like a pet monkey."

Staring, Elena tried to read if her sister was serious or not. Deciding she was unable to tell, she groaned, "There is something really wrong with you."

Addie smirked, "Yeah, I have you for a sister."

"You're mean," Elena proclaimed, pointing a finger at her.

She shrugged, "Don't remember ever claiming to be nice."

At the sound of an engine, both girls turned to see Caroline's dark car rolling down the empty road towards them. The vehicle slowed and pulled in behind Elena's. The blond vampire got out, looking at the sisters questioningly. When Elena had called her, she hadn't expected Addie to be with her. It was disconcerting to see the two alone together.

"About time," Addie mumbled.

"Follow," Elena ordered, picking up a bulky bag off the ground once Caroline had walked up to them. She spun and start walking off into the woods, towards the tomb. "Tell people Addie wasn't feeling well and I took her home from school if anyone ask," she instructed the vampire as she stepped around a shrub.

Caroline shook her head uncomfortably, "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this. I'm a terrible liar."

"Something we can agree on," Addie chirped, trailing behind the other two girls.

Elena barreled on, "And keep Stefan busy. I don't want him to know what I'm up to."

At this Caroline whined, "I'm even worse at duplicity and you know this."

Elena tossed a dirty look over her shoulder, "You managed to keep me occupied when Katherine paid Stefan a visit."

"Yeah, because she threatened me," pouted the blond indignantly.

"Oh, I can do that," Addie grinned.

Caroline was quick to protest, "Not that I'm saying that you should use that as a tactic! It's… " She groaned, "Stefan can see right through me.

Abruptly stopping, Elena turned around and frowned at the other girl, "Caroline, as my friend, do you promise or not?"

"You had to break out the girlfriend code," the vampire huffed. "Ok, I promise."

"Ok," Elena smiled sweetly, continuing towards the old church ruins, now in sight.

"Why don't you want Stefan know?" Caroline inquired innocently.

Addie snorted, descending into the chamber area that held the door to the tomb, "Really, Car? Do you think he'd actually be ok with Elena doing this?"

They came up behind Elena who was standing in front of the carved slab of stone that marked the entrance. Addie felt a chill run over her in the cool, damp air. This was the first time she had ever been down here and she didn't like it. There was something unsettling about the place; it made her feel anxious.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Caroline asked slowly, sounding almost as uncomfortable as Addie felt.

"Yes, I'm sure," Elena said with a false confidence. "She's the only one who knows the truth about why I was kidnapped. She may be the only one who can help me."

"But you're asking for the truth from someone who's probably never given it. Are you sure you want to do this?" she repeated.

Addie rolled her eyes, "Open the damn door, Caroline. We're not just going to sit back and do nothing. If there is the slightest chance that we might get something useful from Katherine, we have to try."

"Alright," Caroline sighed, moving to the large piece of rock. She curled her fingers around the edges and took a deep breath. It took her a second but eventually she got her strength behind the stone and was able to move it off to the side.

A dark, seemingly endless black hole appeared in the wall. Addie noticed herself stepping closer to it in curiosity. "Katherine?" she called out, hesitantly. A tugging sensation at her back caught her attention. Looking over her shoulder she saw Elena trying to pull her away from the doorway by her. Seeing she was only a few inches away from the entrance, Addie took a step back.

"We'll be ok from here," Elena told Caroline.

Addie heard a shuffling noise, which drew the attention of the other two girls, as well. Slowly, Katherine appeared in the light of the opened door, clutching at the wall.

"Hello, Elena, Addie," she croaked out, "You come to watch me wither away?" Glaring at the blond with them, she growled, "Goodbye, Caroline."

Caroline gave Elena a nervous look but Elena attacked before the vampire could.

"As long as we stay on this side of the door, she can't hurt us. Please, Caroline. We'll be ok."

With one last fleeting look between them, Caroline nodded and left.

"Stefan know you're here?" Katherine sneered, once the other vampire had disappeared.

"Nope," Addie replied, inspecting her nails for dirt, "but Damon knows."

Katherine hummed in disgust, "Mmm. Remember when you wanted me to help you kill him? I've changed my mind."

"Mmm," Addie mimicked, "so have I. But how about I toss him in here with you once he really pisses me off? You can snap his neck over and over until you're too weak to break his bones."

Katherine seemed to consider this for a minute, "I think I'd prefer getting out of here."

The younger girl shook her head, "Can't help you there. We're kind of low on witches powerful enough and willing. Not to mention I don't trust you not to kill all my friends and me if I did let you go free."

"What if I promised not to?" Katherine considered,

"You can't be trusted," Addie scoffed.

Katherine shrugged, "Never did anything to break your trust. Nor was I planning on it. I had every intention of holding up my end of our bargain."

"So did I," Addie lied smoothly. "I stopped Damon. I got him to give you the moonstone. It was your witch who got you thrown in here."

Freezing, Elena stopped digging in her. "What are you - what is she - bargain?" she stammered, blinking rapidly at her little sister, trying to understand.

Katherine smirked, "Your sister happens to possibly be the only person with a hint of a brain in this town. See, she figured out that it would be in her best interest to work with me instead of against me."

Elena looked from her sister to Katherine and back again. She frowned at her sister and asked, baffled, "Why? Why would you do that?"

"I was tired of vampire drama," she shrugged, sitting on the floor. "I helped Katherine with her plan and in return, the town would be free of them by the time she finished."

Elena's brow furrowed, "But Damon, Stefan, Caroline…"

"Admittedly, Caroline wasn't a vampire when I made the deal but yeah, I wanted Damon and Stefan out of town," Addie admitted.

Still confused, Elena shook her head, "But you and Da-"

"Yeah, I know," Addie grumbled. "Everything with Damon was calculated. Pretty much everything I've done since Katherine came to town has been with a plan or manipulation in mind."

"So this whole time you've been working with Katherine so you could eventually get the boys out of town?" her sister asked, still trying to understand the situation.

Addie's eyes quickly flashed to Katherine, grateful that she couldn't get past the doorway. "At the risk of pissing Katherine off, no, not the whole time. I changed my mind at some point. I told Damon most of what was going on. He helped me keep up appearances with Katherine while I told him what I knew. Damon said he would worry about Katherine trying to get him, Caroline and Stefan out of town when the time came."

"You betrayed me!" Katherine hissed.

"Not exactly," Addie replied quickly. "You wanted the moonstone and I got Damon to give it to you, which was the last thing he wanted to do. I still wanted to help you finish your plan; I wasn't exactly fond of the idea of you hanging around town plotting something. So, Damon knew I was using him. Big deal! It didn't change things. If anything, it made him more malleable knowing I was trusting him with such a secret. _You_ wanted me to be able to control him. And it's not like knowing he was being manipulated made him immune to it; he still fell for everything you told me to do,

"I changed my mind on the deal and it was the smartest option for me. If I went to you and told you it was off or that I didn't want anything out of it, besides you leaving, you would have killed me. You would have seen me as loose end. Out of Damon and Stefan, Damon is better under pressure and more likely to respond with a better counter plan on however you planned to get them out of town. Plus, you already had me working with Damon. It was in my best interest to tell Damon about the deal I struck with you. You know what it's like to look out for number one. Shame on you to fault me for doing the same," Addie chastised Katherine. Maybe everything she said hadn't been the perfect truth but as long as Katherine was alive, she didn't see the point in permanently getting on her bad side, if she could avoid it.

Katherine spat disdainfully, "I always thought you were the smarter one."

Addie scratched at her eyebrow uncomfortably, not sure how to respond.

Shaking her head, brown hair swirling around her waist,, Elena looked down at her sister in mild disgust and disappointment, " I can't believe you would do such a thing. Or that you would keep it from me."

"That's because you don't know me,' Addie snorted.

Elena sighed turning to Katherine, still clutching at the smooth stone of the walls, "I brought you some things."

"You came to bribe me," Katherine smirked. "What is it you want?"

Addie made to answer as Elena tossed in a pillow and a blanket into the tomb. She hesitated, wondering what her sister was thinking giving a vampire a blanket; they didn't get cold Slapping herself mentally, her focus turned back to Katherine, "We want you to tell us about Klaus."

"Mmm," Katherine hummed, grinning knowingly, "you have been busy."

"I also brought you this," Elena interrupted, from the bag she pulled out a thick, leather-bound, maroon book that looked to be very old. "It's your family history," she explained. "It says in here that the family line ended with you."

"Well, that's obviously not true," Addie snorted.

Katherine ignored her, sneering at Elena, "You think that if you brought me some family keepsake that I'd open up"

Clearing her throat, Addie raised her voice to catch the attention of the other two girls, "She did. I expected you to be a little harder to sway. Show her what else you have, sis."

Taking the bottle of blood from the bag, Elena shook it slowly at Katherine. The vampire rushed towards her but hit the invisible wall at the opening of the doorway. Baring her fangs she hissed.

"Give it," Katherine growled, "now."

"You don't look so good," Elena taunted. "How long before your body shuts down? Ten, twenty years?" she guessed nonchalantly. "It must be painful to desiccate and mummify. I can't even imagine," she finished, sighing with false sympathy.

Warily, Addie watched as Katherine slid down the wall, sitting with her back against it. Hearing the unscrewing of a cap, she turned to her sister, who was pouring a small amount of blood into the clear, plastic cup she had brought. Elena kneeled to the ground, placing the container just along the line marking the entry way into the tomb. Her fingers reached out to push the cup across the barrier but before she could even touch it, Addie had her slim wrist between her her fingers, pulling her hand away.

Looking around, Addie spied a stick near by and passed it to Elena. "You _cannot _cross the line," she said forcefully, at her sister's befuddled look. When clarification of the danger crossed Elena's face, Addie dropped her hand.

Using the stick, Elena prodded the cup to within the tomb. Reaching out with a trembling hand, Katherine picked up the glass and drank the few drops greedily. Almost instantly she wasn't as sickly pale.

She raised the glass to Elena, sounding stronger when she spoke this time, "You have the Petrova fire."

Curious about the accent Katherine had placed on the last name, Addie tried to place it but it was difficult when her knowledge of accents was limited to movies. Meanwhile, she heard her sister offer Katherine more blood, which the vampire silently agreed to, setting her cup in reach of Elena's stick.

* * *

Unplugging his phone from the charger on the nightstand, Damon saw that he had one missed texted, That was odd, considering he had seen everyone he would have expected a text from already that morning. His lips twitched when he read it.

_Addie: We made to the woods where the tomb is. We're just waiting on primadona Caroline to come move the door. She's running late because her hair wouldn't come out right. You wouldn't be upset if I tossed a perky blonde into the tomb for Katherine to play with, right? Really, though, thank you for the blood. I'm certain Katherine must have been running from Klaus. Maybe if she can tell us what he wants or something… I'm not giving up on finding a way to protect my sister. Unless she doesn't stop harassing me about our date right now; in which case I will just have to feed her to Katherine to keep my sanity. Her fake niceness about it is just snooping and it's really pissing me off. Will you hate me if I do that? Come to think of it, I would probably get more from Katherine without her around….Anyways, thank you, again, For the blood and not trying to stop me. It's nice not to have to hide things from you like Elena does from Stefan. And now I'm just rambling. Sorry, texting you provides for a good distraction from Saint Elena. Her act is so annoying! I'll shut up now. Sorry!_

Looking up, Damon caught sight of the far side of the bed. Addie hadn't been in it all week but he was still sleeping on _his _side, rather than in the middle like he use to. It had been strange not seeing her all week, they hadn't talked on the phone because of her strange aversion and they had barely texted each other. That was partly why he was so shocked when she showed up at his house this morning. He had missed her, he realized.

With a full grin on his face, Damon slipped his phone into his pocket. Addie could go about her way of finding information on Klaus because Katherine definitely wasn't going to tell him anything. He had his own plan waiting downstairs. Leaving his room, Damon headed back into the living room.

"Alright, Rosebud," he called, clapping his hand once and rubbing the palms together, "I need some answers." Hearing a sniffling, he turned and looked at her as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. He groaned, tossing his head back, " Oh, please don't tell me you're crying 'cause your buddy Trevor lost his head."

"You've always been this sensitive?" Rose scolded, her English accent more pronounced from her recent onslaught of tears.

Damon smirked and shrugged. "There's a vampire switch for this very reason. Takes the emotion right out of it all."

"Yeah," Rose nodded, giving him a challenging look, "you switch yours and I'll switch mine."

"Is that a dig?" Damon sneered, stepping towards her.

"It's an observation," she commented. "Being in love with your brother's girlfriend must be difficult."

He tilted his head in confusion, "I'm not in love with Elena." He scoffed and shook his head.

Rose smiled at him knowingly, "You want to try that again?"

"Seriously," Damon stressed, "I care about Elena but it's not her who I'm in love with."

"So you're in love with the mouthy little one?" Rose frowned, raising a disapproving eyebrow.

"Addie? I'm not in love with her," he protested firmly.

Rose rolled her eyes, "You want to try that again?"

Sighing, Damon took another step closer to her and crossed his arms, flexing his muscles. "I'm not in love with anyone, darling."

"I don't believe you," she replied smugly.

He stepped up to her so there faces were only about an inch apart. He raised finger to her chest and warned, "Don't get on my bad side."

"Then show me your good side," she dared him softly.

Damon grinned at her devilishly and let the hand he was pointing at her with fall to her hip. "I don't have a good side," he whispered huskily in her ear. Leaning back slightly, he looked at her, "How do I find Klaus?"

Rose shook her head, placing a hand on his chest, the dark grey shirt, soft under her fingers. "That's not how it works. You don't find Klaus; he finds you."

* * *

Addie turned her focus back to Katherine when she heaved a sigh, resting her head against the stone tomb. ""It's a long story, Klaus and I. It goes all the way back after I left Bulgaria, well, was thrown out. Back to England, 1492."

"When Columbus sailed the ocean blue?" Addie interrupted with snickering, unable to help herself

"One of the few things your little history books got right," Katherine quipped, grabbing the tiny amount of blood Elena had pushed back towards her.

Elena did a better job of staying focused than her sister and tried to get more answers from the vampire, "Thrown out?"

"My family," Katherine started with a trace of disgust, "your true ancestors, they disowned me. My indiscretions were not tolerated at the time. I had a baby out of wedlock."

Addie gasped in not surprise, "Not _you."_

The vampire nodded, her eyes wide and looking scandalized, "The shame."

"It's not in the book," Elena said, shaking her head. She looked at Katherine as it clicked, "It was kept secret?"

Katherine nodded. "Mhmm. My baby was given away and I was banished to England. I had to learn to adjust so I quickly became English. It was there that I caught the eye of a noble man named Klaus. I was taken with him at first," Katherine replied mildly before her voice suddenly turned cold and sour, "until I found out what he was and what he wanted from me and then I ran like hell."

"The same thing that he'll want from you," she shrugged. "He wants to break the curse."

"Ok," Elena drawled, "but what do I have to do with that?"

Deep blue eyes narrowed in a finger, Addie dragged a finger through the dirt by her feet, forming a circle. "I'm guessing he wants your blood," she mumbled, more to herself than to answer her sister. "Think about it," she said louder, looking towards Elena. "Why else hasn't she killed you? It'd be easier to get Stefan with you accidentally died or something, if he was what she was really after." Addie glared at Katherine, seething, "She's just important as the moonstone, isn't she?"

"Yep," Katherine answered, popping the p, "Klaus will want to drain every single drop of blood from her body like he did me because she's a Petrova doppelganger."

Addie smirked, "I knew it; you were going to screw me over."

Shaking her head, the vampire grinned wickedly, "Not truly. You asked me to make your town vampire free. There was no clause about keeping your sister alive. Once I handed her over to be killed, Stefan and Damon would be sure to chase me to the ends of the earth. Of course, after fleeing from Klaus for so long running from them would be like a fun game of hide and seek. And Caroline, well, she would also be used to break the curse."

"Caroline, a vampire," Addie frowned, holding out one finger. She held out another when she spoke again, "The moonstone." Biting her lip, she had to work up the nerve to tick off the next item, "And my sister, the Petrova doppelganger, for some reason." The synapses in her brain were firing off three times faster than usual as she put it all together. "A sun and moon curse involving werewolves and vampires. You said you needed four ingredients. At one point you had three but then you were going to be down to two for a bit. Matt and Sarah were compelled to go after Tyler until he killed one of them, turning him into a werewolf. He was to replace Mason, wasn't he? You were going to hand over Elena, Caroline, Mason and the moonstone to Klaus in return for your freedom, weren't you?"'

"Bravo to you for finally catching on," Katherine congratulated sarcastically. "As you pointed out, I had to turn Tyler, though. You just couldn't control Damon, could you? You lucked out that Mason had a nephew with the gene, otherwise I would have been _really _angry. Werewolves aren't exactly easy to come by."

Grabbing the stick from Elena, Addie used it to pull the flimsy plastic cup back outside the tomb. She passed the two items to her sister, too squeamish at the idea of handling the blood.

"Another Bloody Mary, bartender," she instructed her sister, studying the vampire's cool demeanor. How had she been so stupid to have been helping her? Deluding herself that she could work with Katherine and not get burned.

With the cup slightly refilled, Elena sat it back on the ground and nudged it into the tomb with the stick. "What I want to know," she started loudly. " is what does the Petrova bloodline have to do with Klaus."

Katherine drank the blood, crushing the cup when she was finished.

_Great_, Addie thought, _now everything is done on her terms. _

"It's tedious," she heaved, "but the curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood."

"Whoa,' Addie drawled. Holding her hands curled up lightly into fist on either side of her head, she flung them open really quickly. "Mind. Blown. You're right; that was extremely tedious."

The vampire scowled, "I'm guessing you and Damon fight a lot, huh? Especially with his hot new temper."

Shrugging, Addie gave Katherine a half smile, "We have our fair share. But, well, you saw him angry."

"Mmm," she nodded in agreement, "he is hot when he's mad."

Annoyed at the tangent the other two had gone off on, Elena huffed, "Why the sacrifice of Petrova blood?"

"It could have been any bloodline. I don't know exactly why someone from my particular bloodline was used originally," Katherine shrugged. "The whole purpose was for the creation of the doppelganger as a way to undo the spell. Witches are crafty like that. Once the doppelganger reappeared, the curse could be broken."

"So you ran before he could kill you?" surmised Elena.

The vampire grinned darkly, "Something like that. When I was running, a friend and vampire named Trevor led me to the house of a vampire named Rose, saying she would help me."

"Ooh! I met her! Trevor and she had Elena kidnapped the night of the masquerade," Addie interjected with false excitement, growing bored.

"Interesting," Katherine muttered, looking Elena over. "I'm guessing the cavalry road in and saved the day?"

"Wouldn't they always?" Addie muttered.

Katherine smile pleasantly, "Jealous Damon loves her?"

She shook her head and frowned slightly, "No, he's a grown...vampire; who am I to judge him for how he feels?"

"You definitely judge," Katherine gleamed. "But don't worry, he loves you far more. He loves you more than he ever loved me. He's scared of how he feels about you. It's quite amusing, really."

Addie shook her head while Elena held back a derisive laugh.

"What happened when you went to Rose's?" Addie inquired, picking up a small rock and throwing it at her sister's bent knees.

"I knew I had to figure out a way for Klaus not to want me. So, I found a dagger and drove it into my stomach. Rose was determined to drag me to Klaus alive so she fed me her blood. When she left,well," Katherine mimicked tying a noose around her neck and hanging, letting her chin fall to her chest.

Elena gaped, horrified, "You killed yourself?"

Katherine nodded, "Klaus needed a human doppelganger. As a vampire, I was no longer any use to him.

"But it didn't work," Elena pointed out "You didn't really escape; you've been running from Klaus ever since."

"I underestimated his peer for vengeance but living in a suitcase is better than dying so you can have your blood spilled over some silly little rock."

Elena gawked at her in disgust, "Rose and Trevor spent the last 500 years running because you used them. Trevor just got killed!"

Katherine looked mildly impressed, "I never thought he would have lasted that long.

"You don't even care that you ruined their lives," Elena said appalled.

"I was looking out for myself, Elena. I will always look out for myself. If you're smart, you'll do the same. Your sister has started to get the idea," Katherine smirked, turning her back to them and opening the old book on her family heritage.

Elena looked at Addie and shook her head, "You would never do that."

"Mmm, if I didn't _know _Rose and Trevor were going to have their lives screwed up over it, yeah, I would. I mean, how would I know Klaus would have been such a vengeful, psychotic, lunatic?" Addie replied honestly.

"You're an awful person," Elena muttered.

Addie considered this, "I don't think so. I'm more of an inconsiderate person. My motives are for the majority rather than the minority."

* * *

Sitting on the arm of the sofa, Damon's cool blue eyes gazed into the fire, not really seeing the flames. Sighing, he lifted the tumbler of bourbon to his lips and took a long drag, draining the glass. His lips twitched as he relished the familiar burn after the long day. He dropped the glass onto the table behind the couch and grabbed the curvy, crystal decanter of the aged alcohol and pulled the stopper out. Fuck the glass; it would only slow him down, considering the day he had.

Rose had took him up to visit her friend Slater, who had connected her with Elijah. Turned out Klaus wanted to break the curse so all vampires could roam free during the daytime. Addie would be ecstatic to learn that; no way in hell was he telling her that. Worse, he hadn't figured anything out to help Addie help Elena. Worst of all, Klaus was a lot closer than they thought. In the middle of talking to Slater, the tempered windows that blocked UV rays were shattered into millions of pieces. There had been nearly thirty vampires in the little coffee shop. He wasn't sure if any became toasted; he had been too focused on carrying Rose out, barreling through the crowd. She was certain Klaus was responsible for the attack. Damon wasn't certain it was the Original, himself, but he wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't one of his puppets. He tried to make sure he wasn't followed back to the house, just to be safe but…. He took another long swig of bourbon.

"I'm sorry about today," he heard Rose softly say, from somewhere behind him. "I didn't know that was going to happen." Her voice was closer but he still didn't turn to look for her.

He nodded, his face expressionless, his usually lively eyes dead, "I believe you."

Rose took the glass Damon had set down and held it out in front of him, shaking it slightly. He held up the crystal bottle and she stopped, holding the glass level. Without ever really looking at what he was doing, he poured out two fingers before lifting the drink to his lips again. Rose took a sip, frowning as it burned running down her throat. She leaned against the armrest, next to Damon.

Rose lifted the back of Damon's shirt, where it bunched up around his waist. Feeling the strip of skin between the waistband of his pants and shirt, she lightly raked her long nails over it, making him shiver. "I wish we could save Elena," she uttered, scratching more firmly at his back. "I know that you want to."

"And I will," he vowed, taking another burning sip. He wasn't going to let Addie lose her sister; as much as she liked to pretend otherwise, she would die for Elena and he would, well… Damon shook his head and took a long swig; he wasn't drunk enough to admit that, at least not yet.

Looking at Damon's startling blue eyes, resolute jaw, and rigid posture, Rose eventually concluded, "You remind me of Trevor?"

"Why?" he scoffed, turning his head and looking down at her, his eyes finally focusing on her face. "Why him?"

She shrugged, slipping her hand higher up his back, under the soft cotton of his shirt, "Because he always talked a big game. He was always working some angle but underneath he was the best friend anyone could hope for."

"And where'd that get him?" he muttered bitterly.

"Dead," she answered flatly, "and my loyalty to him almost got me dead too."

He raised the bottle he was nursing and nodded towards the glass she held, indicating she should do the same. Rose did. "To friendship," he grimaced and a high pitched clink rang out when he tapped his bottle to her glass, "it certainly is a bitch."

Continuing to draw random letters on his back, Rose watched him drink, not doing so herself. He was clearly struggling with something. Five hundred years taught her all men turned to alcohol over one thing: women. She reached over him and placed her glass down on the table. Lifting her hand, she placed it firmly against his cheek, turning his face from the fire to her. "You're right to fight it, the way you feel about her," she reassured.

Leaning back into the feeling of her nails on his back, he frowned, "And why's that?"

She shrugged slightly, the corners of her lips turning down, "Because if you want to survive, you need to not care about anyone."

"Caring gets you dead, huh?" he mumbled, taking several stinging gulps of alcohol.

Shaking her head, Rose dropped her hand from his cheek and pulled the decanter from his grasp, setting it next to her glass. "It might just be time to turn the switch off on your emotions."

Damon felt her nails scrape at him just a bit harder and sensed her toying with the hem of his shirt. Turning towards her, he let his hands slip to her waist. "I will if you will," he dared.

Smirking, Rose let go of his shirt and pulled his head down to hers, roughly kissing him.

* * *

The annoying beeps alerting him of a text message led Damon to let out a stream of colorful words.

"Don't want to get that?" Rose giggled, somewhere above Damon.

Resting with his back against the couch and his head laid on the cushions, he groaned. Opening one eye bright with mischief, he spied his companion in a black negligee leaning over him, putting back in an earring. "No," he grumbled, "I definitely don't want to get that." Of course, it was late and he had no idea where Stefan was and who knew if something happened when Addie and Elena went to go pay Katherine a visit, He sighed heavily, lifting his head, "But I have to. It could be an emergency."

"Wouldn't someone call if it was an emergency? It's much faster," she pointed out reasonably.

"Not everyone would," he mumbled, thinking of Addie. Glancing around the room, he saw the mess they had made. Things knocked off tables, said tables overturned…. It was all Rose's fault, really. _She_ was the one who had gotten out of control, he was just along for the ride. "Do you know where my pants are?" he asked in amusement.

"I think," Rose smirked, crawling over him and down towards his feet, leaving him with a perfect view of her bare bottom, her lingerie too short to fully cover her. Unable to resist the temptation, Damon reached out and squeezed a perfectly tanned globe "Damon!" she squealed, smacking at his hand.

He looked at her innocently, "What?"

She winked at him and turned back, grabbing the pant leg that was just within her reach. "I think they ended up here," she grinned, holding the jeans up triumphantly.

"Wonderful," he muttered sarcastically, snatching them from her. Frowning, he fished his cell phone from a back pocket. He tapped at his phone, pulling up the message. Instantly he felt _unclean_ when he read who it was from.

_Addie: Please tell me you had a better day than I did. I got bad, worse, and fucked._

Groaning, Damon dropped his phone into his lap. He rubbed his hands over his face, feeling angry. He could tell his buzz from earlier was wearing off as he pulled his pants on under the sheet draped over his waist. Pocketing his phone, he stood up. Looking down at Rose, he held out a hand to her. Gently, he pulled her to her feet. "Sorry, Rosebud, but I've got to take care of this," he frowned at her.

The vampire gave him a knowing look, "It's her."

"No," he sneered.

"Interesting," she smiled coyly, "because .you have guilt written all over your face. I wonder what else you could possibly feel guilty about. I thought we talked about flipping the emotion switch."

Damon turned away from her, his teeth gritted, "I thought I did."

"Did you _really_ try and flip your humanity switch?" Rose asked, mildly surprised.

Damon scoffed, "No, of course not but I'm perfectly capable of fun, guiltless sex."

"Or you're in love and you actually aren't." she countered back.

He paused to consider this. "No," he decided. "If I was actually in love with her, I never would have slept with you in the first place." Walking to the liquor cabinet, he bent down and pulled out a new, cheaper bottle of scotch. He made for his room, pausing to say, "Don't worry about the mess. I'll take care of it when I get back."

* * *

Working on conjugating indicative active imperfect verbs in Latin was about the biggest waste of time. Frustrated, Addie slammed her laptop shut. Not for the first time that night she questioned what had possessed her to take a dead language. It wasn't like she could just ask anybody for help with it. Jeremy was smart in taking Spanish.

"You're gonna break that," chuckled a voice.

Jerking in surprise, Addie banged her knee on the underside of her desk. "Shit," she swore, rubbing at it. She pushed the chair back and spun it around to face her room. Without the glow of her laptop screen it appeared pitch black and it took a second for her eyes to adjust. Finally, she made out a shape sitting on the edge of her bed. "How long have you been there?" she scowled.

Damon paused, uncertain of how time was passing, "Um, how long ago did you Google Latin insults and yell them at your computer?"

Grateful for the darkness, she felt her cheeks burn hot. "About twenty minutes ago. And I was yelling at the assignment, not the computer," she said defensively.

"Yeah, that's much saner," Damon snickered.

"Shut up," she muttered. "I'm mad at you."

"Why?" he asked hesitantly.

Addie shrugged, knowing she was going to sound needy and stupid, "You never answered my text. I mean, you had to have learned something."

Damon sighed, fussing with his hair, still damp from his long, scalding shower. God, he was even picking up her nervous habits. "You had a bad day. You had to deal with Katherine and your sister. I thought i should probably come over in person. So I showered and did just that. I didn't know responding was so important. You randomly don't reply and don't seem to mind the few times I don't."

"It wasn't important," she admitted, walking over to him. "Whoa," she halted, smelling strong vapors of alcohol, "have you been drinking?"

"Just a - actually, I'd be lying if I said a little bit," he laughed bitterly.

Cautiously, she sat down next to him, "So, a lot?"

He looked at his hands with great interest. "Not enough," he mumbled.

She placed a hand on his arm, making him flinch. Slightly hurt, Addie recoiled. "What's wrong, Damon?"

He shook his head.

"Come on, Damon," she coaxed, grabbing a hand he was staring at. He weakly tried to pull away but she wouldn't let him. Reaching over she grabbed his other hand. "Damon, you're clearly upset. You _can _tell me; I'm not going to judge you."

"I don't _want_ to tell you," he snapped. He felt bad when he saw the hurt flash in her eyes by the light of the moonlight. She felt her drop his hand but he quickly grabbed hers. "Hey," he whispered apologetically, turning to meet her eyes, struggling to keep his focused, "I - I - I - I don't know."

"You're drunk," she huffed in annoyance.

He nodded, "A wee bit. I couldn't face you sober."

"Why not?" she asked gently.

He shook his head again, "Nope."

Catching him off guard, she was able to wrench her hands out of his grasp. "Then why did you bother coming over?" she grumbled.

"I told you," he shrugged.

Addie frowned, "You can leave then. You being drunk and upset with me not knowing why or being able to do anything is only making a bad day worse."

"No," he moaned, "Addie, no."

"Yes," she insisted, less stern. She flattened down his hair where he had messed it up. It was still slightly wet from the shower he mentioned but it looked funny. "Damon, do you - is your hair naturally curly?"

"No!" he blushed, tugging at his hair self consciously.

"It's kind of drying like it is," slapping his hands away, she grinned. "I'm not talking _curly_ curly but you'd need a flat iron to get your hair to look the way it does."

Damon glared at her, or at least he tried to, it wasn't very effective when he couldn't focus his eyes. "Tell anyone, and I mean anyone, and I will hurt you," he hissed.

She put a finger to his lips, "It will be our little secret."' He playfully snapped at her fingers. "Hey! Watch it vampire boy!" she warned, having barely pulled away in time.

He pouted, "You're no fun."

"No," she agreed, "not until you tell me what's wrong."

Groaning, Damon dropped his face into his hands. His words came out choked and muffled, "I feel guilty."

Uncertain of what to say or do, Addie continued to play with his hair. She smiled slightly when some of the tension visibly released from him. She rested her head on his slumped shoulder, taking in the fresh, clean scent of his soap and the traces of lavender in his laundry detergent; he hadn't put on his crisp, musky, sandalwood accented aftershave, like usual. Eventually, he dropped one hand from his face and sought out hers, interlocking their fingers. Addie took this as a good sign and inquired, "What happened?"

"I just… I screwed up. I made a mistake. I was tired of caring. I wanted to simply be selfish and I thought I could but… _something_ has changed. Two months ago, I'd be fine but now all I feel is awful," he rambled.

"Damon," Addie insisted, determined to get his attention.

He babbled on, as if he hadn't heard her, "It's not only guilt, though. I'm mad at myself. I've tried so hard and I screwed everything up just for -"

"Damon!" she burst out, squeezing his hand tightly. The vampire stopped talking, twisting his head to look at the thick purple hair that rested against his shoulder. Addie tilted her head up just enough to catch his gaze. It felt like a blow to her stomach when she saw the storm of hatred, regret, and sorrow in his steel blue eyes. "You're not making sense," she told him gently.

Pushing his fingers through his hair, he looked away from her. His dark curls were truly a mess, sticking every which way from his fussing with it, Addie playing with it, and it drying without being properly styled. Picking up their intertwined hands, he brushed his lips over the back of her knuckles. "You know I'd die for you?" he mumbled.

"Don't," she pleaded, "don't say that."

Sighing, he kissed the crown of her head. "It's the truth though," he lamented, resting his cheek against her head.

"I don't want it to be true," she protested firmly, pulling out from under him. The look she gave him was hard and cold. "You should be looking out for yourself," she reprimanded.

"I've found someone more important to lookout for," he explained simply, letting the back of his knuckles brush across her cheek.

Grabbing at his hand, Addie pulled it into her lap and smirked at him. "Well, you're drunk and burdened with a guilty conscious; I'm not going to hold you to that promise when it comes down to it."

He groaned loudly, taking one of the many pillows scattered across the top of her bed he placed it under his head as he laid back on her bed.

"Will you be quiet?" she hissed, her eyes flashing between the door to the bathroom and the one to the hall. "Has you inebriated state made you forget that we're _not_ at the boarding house, where you can't get into trouble for sneaking a girl into your room."

He snorted in bitter amusement and muttered to himself, "I don't have to sneak around with a girl to get into to trouble." Twisting his hips, Damon turned onto his side, his legs still dangling off the bed. By the light of the moon, he studied Addie as best he could. A spaghetti strap tank top clung to her top, light in color, he couldn't tell exactly what shade, but he was sure she wasn't wearing a bra. Her legs were barer than he'd seen before, the hem of her shorts high on her thighs. She definitely hadn't expected him. Realizing she was crossly watching him ogle her, he gave her a slightly drunken, lopsided grin, "I didn't knock nor was I invited. Technically, I think I broke into your room."

"It's not a joke, Damon. If Jenna catches you in here-"

"Jenna's busy with Ric," he grumbled, "I highly doubt she's going to be coming in here."

Addie paled, feeling nauseous, she questioned in a pinched voice, "You can hear that?"

"Most unfortunately, I can," he confirmed.

Visibly, she shuddered in disgust, "That's just…"

"Disturbing? A nuisance? Horribly frustrating? They all kind of fit," he suggested, letting his eye fall shut. He was reaching that sleepy phase of being drunk.

Reaching over Damon, Addie grabbed a pillow and laid down on her side next to him. "I would have to disagree with the last one," she laughed. His hair felt like silk as it ran between her fingers. For once, since it was already disheveled, she didn't worry about messing it up and just enjoyed toying wit it. His moan was long, deep, and loud when she lightly scratched at his scalp. "Damon!" she snapped quietly. "What did I just tell you about being quiet?"

"Your fault," he pouted. "You did that thing with your nails."

She scowled at him, "So?"

"So, I _liked _it," he smirked, his eyes still closed.

Playing with the ends of his raven hair, Addie frowned at this, "That doesn't mean you can't be quiet about it."

Opening his crystal blue eyes, Damon looked at her heatedly;he could make out the forming blush in the moonlight. He placed a finger at the hollow of her through and traced up her clavicle, barely brushing his skin against hers. "One day, I'm going to prove to you that it's not always that easy," he murmured suggestively, a sumg grin of satisfaction at the rise of goosebumps under his fingers. Reaching the base of her throat, he added another finger and pressed down gently as he dragged them up the column of her throat, making sure to hit all the pressure points. He halted when she took in a shaky breath. Noticing his fingers were pressing where the interior jugular vein and carotid artery almost overlapped each other, he pushed down a little harder, generating a soft whimpering noise from her that shot right through him. Slowly, he pulled his hand away, watching her lick her lips.

"That's not nice," she muttered.

He raised an eyebrow, "Neither was what you did."

"I did that on accident. I didn't mean to… well, I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable. You were just being mean," she stammered and scowled.

Damon shrugged the shoulder not against the pillow, trying to look innocent, "I was just _starting_ to make my point."

"You shouldn't start things you don't intend to finish," she countered.

"While not tonight, I have every intention of finishing," he grinned, leaning over and placing a hard kiss to where he had pressed. A firm hand dropped to her waist when she started to squirm, the tips of his fingers sneaking under the waistband of her skimpy pajama shorts. He groaned softly as her nails gently scraped against his scalp again. He parted his lips, sucking the tender flesh between his lips. When she only wiggled closer to him, he tightened his hold on her hip, feeling the satin of her underwear against his fingertips. He stopped suckling and started to nibble at her skin. His groan joined her moan when she accidentally tugged at his hair.

The smell of stale alcohol coming from him reminder her that he wouldn't be doing this if he was sober. Addie dropped her hand from Damon's hair and squeezed it between her and him. "No," she breathed haggardly, pushing at his chest, "you have to stop." She shoved harder, feeling him start to stop the teasing at her neck.

Feeling sudden waves of guilt again, Damon pulled away and dropped his head on the pillow he had been using. Seeing the tormented look on his face, Addie draped an arm across his chest and pulled herself closer to him; he responded by tightening his hold on her hip again, making her wince. Using her thumb she rubbed at the crease in his brow. She sighed and softly kissed his cheek.

"You wouldn't have done that if you weren't drunk," she reflected, resting her head against his shoulder.

"No, probably not but I would have wanted to," he muttered, kissing her forehead.

"Um, Damon," she hesitated, "would you mind loosening your-"

"Fuck!" he cursed. "I'm so sorry. Are you ok?" he rushed out, rubbing at where he had been gripping her.

She giggled, "I'm fine, you just showed a little more than human strength."

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

Propping herself up on her elbow she looked down at his troubled expression. "Please, Damon, tell me what's bothering you so much," frowning, she reached down and stroked his cheek. "Let me be here for you."

He shook his head, "No. You know, I should probably go."

Before Damon could sit up, Addie found herself straddling his stomach, surprising both of them. Grabbing both his hands, she pinned them on either side of his head. Leaning down, she kissed his forehead. She raised an eyebrow when he turned away from her. Normally he would have made some sexual retort or at least tried to look down her shirt. She tilted her head in curiosity, "Does it have something to do with me?"

He didn't answer. Addie pulled her leg back over him and dropped on to her back. She stared at the plastic stars on her ceiling and counted them. Forty eight. She counted again. Forty eight. She ran her fingers through her hair and nervously asked, "Why do you feel guilty, Damon? What did you do?"

Rubbing at his eyes, he debated whether or not he wanted to answer. She deserved to know the truth. "I slept with Rose earlier," he admitted.

"And?" Addie pressed.

His brows knitted together as he looked up at her, "And what?"

"Well, I know you don't just feel guilty because you slept with someone," she laughed.

"I do," he insisted, frowning at her.

Addie shook her head, "You're kidding. You're Mr. Playboy; you couldn't exist if you got all torn up and guilt ridden each time you slept with some poor sorority girl."

"I don't get bothered with that," he scoffed. "I have no problem having fun, meaningless sex."

"Ok, so what's the problem with you sleeping with Rose? I mean, is that what you feel guilty about?" Addie questioned. "I gotta confess, I'm feeling pretty confused here."

Damon rolled his eyes, "_You_ make everything confusing, Addie. Yes, it's the sex with Rose I feel guilty about. Has anyone ever told you how compassionate and understanding you are?"

"Pot to kettle. Do you realize how many times you call me out on something but you do the exact same thing?" she said, pursing her lips thoughtfully.

"Yes, well, I'm the bad guy. You're the sweet, innocent one," he grinned, tapping her on the nose.

Frowning, she batted at his hand. Addie smirked, "How can I be sweet if I'm not compassionate and understanding?"

"Oh, shush it," he grumbled.

"I'll take that as a 'checkmate,'" she grinned, kissing his cheek. When he flinched at her touch for the second time that night she decided she had enough. "What the hell, Damon? What is your problem?"

"I told you," he groan, "I feel guilty."

"Yeah, ok, I heard that but I don't understand why or what it has to do with me! What have I done to make you pull away from me?" Addie demanded, frustrated with him.

He growled, putting her face between his hands and pulling her face down until it hovered right over his. "Everything has to do with you," he ground out. "I can't even have sex without feeling like shit the second I think about you."

"That's your problem," she snarled. "There's no reason to take it out on me."

"That's all you all you have to say?" he muttered in disbelief.

She tried to pull away from him but he just held her face tighter. She pushed at his chest but her efforts were futile. Growling, she slapped at his chest. "What do you want me to say?" she spat.

"That you're angry at me or upset or something!"

He let go of her when she started to laugh. Addie sighed, laying back down. "Why would I be?"

Damon frowned, "I don't get it. I would be pretty upset if you slept with some other guy."

Addie snorted in disbelief. "I can answer this in one of two ways. Actually, because you're being so ridiculous, I'm going to go with both. First, I'd be pretty annoyed considering you'd have no right or reason to be upset. We're not in a relationship or dating each other or even sleeping together. If we were exclusively seeing each other, hell yeah I would be pissed off with you for sleeping with her but we're not. As long as we aren't together, it's really neither of our business what or who the other one does. Second response - and this isn't a rhetorical question - if I sleep with a guy, do you think it's going to be random or that he's going to mean something to me?"

"The second one," he answered, playing connect the dots with the plastic stars.

"Bingo! So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it bothered you more that I was interested in someone else rather than the fact that I actually slept with them. I mean, you knew Katherine was sleeping with your brother but you thought she was in love with you, which was what mattered more. With you, I'm really not that worried about it, to be honest. You probably can't even count the number of women you've been with but I would bet my life that you can count the number that actually mattered to you. You have meaningless sex; it's what I've come to expect from you, just like your drinking," she snorted.

He scowled, "It's not that bad."

She pursed her lips in distaste, "Mmm, borderline alcoholic vampire, I'd say."

"Thanks, Ads, really," he mocked.

"Hey, I'm dealing with it. You should too. My point was, I'm not hurt or upset because, at most, Rose is just a friend to you. I know, well, you have me convinced that you care about me in a deeper way. Now, if you slept with Elena, well, I would really start questioning things," she explained, a hint of warning under her even tone.

Damon turned his head and stared at her for several minutes. He reached out in the few distance between them, found her hand, and interlaced their fingers. Sitting up slightly, he leaned over and pressed his lips against her cheek. When he laid back down, it was on his side, facing her, draping an arm over her stomach. "So, I haven't done anything wrong by you?" he asked cautiously.

She brought her free hand up and ran his hair through her fingers. "I'm sure, according to many, many girls what I'm about to say is completely devaluing to women and I should be outraged but no, you haven't done anything wrong in my opinion."

"You are so cool," he grinned, kissing her again.

"Don't take that as a free pass or something. It's not like I'm happy to hear about your… extracurriculars. I just figured they've been going on this whole time," she mumbled, her eyes closed.

"Nope," he informed her, "not for about two months, now."

Addie's lipped twitched at this, "Really?"

He sighed heavily, "It's a shock, I know. I've been too busy thinking about this amazing, beautiful girl who drives me ten types of crazy."

"She probably only does that because you drive her insane," she teased, tugging at his hair.

He hummed pleasantly at the sensation, burying his face in her neck, "You enjoy playing with my hair, don't you."

"Oh, I more than enjoy it," she smirked, scratching lightly at his scalp, "and it was already such a mess tonight that I thought I might as well have some fun with it."

Damon bit back a moan, "You really shouldn't do that; you're playing with fire."

Her tone was light and innocent, "Do what?"

She lightly raked her nails at the crown of his head. Groaning, Damon buried his face further into the crook of her neck. When she gently pulled the hair at the base of his neck, he quickly decided turnabout was fair play. He placed a warm, open-mouthed kiss at the base of her neck. As her breathing increased, he moved his lips higher, his kiss firmer. Damon continued to work his way up her neck until she gave a particularly sharp tug at his hair that, while he enjoyed it, he was fairly certain hadn't meant to be that rough. With a low groan and a wicked grin playing at his lips, he pulled the soft skin between them. He heard her whimper softly and flicked his tongue against her. The taste of watermelon hit his tongue; it was simply divine. He had to be going crazy; he was just smelling her watermelon and blackberry body wash. Letting his teeth skim over the skin, he nipped at her gently. Addie moaned quietly, grazing her nails against his scalp. Startled, Damon gave a deep growl of pleasure and bit at her, his canines elongating and brushing at her skin.

Pulling his head closer, she begged, "Damon…." What she wanted, she didn't know.

Pushing his tongue flat against her skin, he was hypnotized by the pulsing of her vein under it. This close he could smell her sickly sweet blood. So, so, so intoxicatingly sweet and delicious; it had been so warm flowing into his mouth. With great force, Damon turned his head away from her and into the pillow. Taking several slow, deep breaths, he fought back the surge of bloodlust that had sneaked up on him. He would have sworn he mastered the damn urges half a century ago.

"No," she whined softly, when he broke ago. "Damon," she pleaded, slipping her hand from his hair to under the collar of his shirt.

"That was almost not good," he lamented, meaning to pull back but encouraged by Addie's hand to stay close. Deciding to let her win. he dropped his head back onto the pillow, facing her.

Addie turned her head and onto her side to face him. She frowned, "I'm sorry."

Grinning playfully, he brushed at the tip of her her nose with his until she smiled. "That's better," he said triumphantly, dropping his head. "No need for you to be sorry. I'm the one who almost bit you."

"Oh."

"I'm the one who's sorry," he mumbled, rubbing his hand between her hand and waist.

She traced her finger around his collar as she thought. "You know, you could just properly kiss me and we could do this right," she suggested.

"Yeah?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She nodded, "Mhm."

Damon edged closer to her until his lips hovered over hers. When he spoke, they barely brushed. "No," he whispered. Pulling back he smirked at the pouty look on her face. "You're quite cute when you don't get your way."

"I'm more offended," she lied. "You'll make out with Rose but you don't want to with me. That's kind of a wound to my ego."

She felt bad as she watched him drag a hand over a pained expression. "Ads, you have no clue how badly I want to _but_ I already told you when I'm going to kiss you," he said gently stroking her cheek. "Besides, we don't need to rush anything."

"It's just a little kissing, Damon." she whined.

"Then it shouldn't be a big deal to wait," he countered.

Huffing, she yanked at his collar, "You are so frustrating."

"It's two days," laughed Damon.

"But I want to kiss you _now_!" she pouted.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Why are you-" Realization dawned on him and he smirked, "_I'm_ not frustrating. _You're_ frustrated."

He could just make out the blood pooling at her cheeks in the darkness. "No, I'm not!" she protested.

"Yes, you are," he teased, slipping her tank up from her hip to her waist. He let his fingers trailer over the freshly exposed skin, sending goose bumps down her spine. He smirked smugly, "That was extremely easy."

"I don't know why you look so satisfied," she snapped. "You didn't do anything."

He snorted and rolled his eyes, "Fine, you're not bothered." His fingers skimmed the elastic of her shorts as he bent over and whispered huskily in her ear, "But I could do something." Hearing the catching her breath, he pulled back, satisfied.

Recovering quickly, Addie scowled at him, "But you wouldn't do something."

Peppering feather light kisses along her jaw, he grinned, feeling her grab at his collar. "Admit that you're worked up and I will," he mumbled, catching her earlobe between his teeth.

"W-w-what would you do?" she stammered out, fumbling with the top button of his shirt.

"Nothing to make you uncomfortable," he reassured her, rubbing a hand gently along her bare arm. "Just a little something to take the edge off," he hinted, his voice flowing hot over her neck, making her shiver. His fingers found their way into her wavy hair and gripped at it gently, barely tugging. Addie's reflexively grabbed at his shoulder. Placing a kiss where her jaw and ear met, he he teased, "All you have to do is admit that you're bothered."

"OK," she admitted weakly, as he gripped tighter at her hip, pulling her towards him.

Damon shook his head, dragging his fingers through her hair, "Say it."

She grumbled, moving down to the next button on his shirt, "You're a dick."

"Just a little bossy," he taunted, kissing at her temple. Feeling her nails rake down his partially exposed chest with a force he wouldn't have expected from her he groaned, "Fuck, Ads."

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, pulling her hands away, as if he was on fire. "I didn't mean too."

He tugged sharply at her hair, making her moan and tilt her head back, exposing her neck to him. His other hand slid under the back of her shirt and up her back, pulling her chest flush with his. "It takes a lot more than that to hurt me," he mumbled against her neck, knowing what she was thinking. "I liked it," he growled, placing his lips just below her ear.

When Damon increased the pressure of his hips, Addie felt her heart rate increase. Eager to feel more of him, she slipped her hands in between them and finished undoing the buttons on his shirt. Damon sucked at the tender flesh, groaning softly at the feeling of her roaming his chest.

"Off," she breathed out desperately, pushing at his shirt

Letting go of her hair, Damon placed a hand on her shoulder, urging her from her side to her back. Hovering over her, he never let his lips break contact with her neck. He shrugged off the black shirt off his shoulders, lifting his arms to remove it. Smirking, Addie grabbed it from him and tossed it somewhere across her room. Her hands flew to his back, digging her fingers into the firm planes of muscle she found. He groaned loudly and gently bit at her neck when the heels of her hands pressed into the tense muscles at his necks.

"Damon," she moaned softly, pinching at his side. "Be quiet!"

"Sorry," he snickered, moving to where her neck and shoulder met. He smirked as she whined and squirmed as he flexed his lips over the area. Resting his weight on his elbows, he threaded his finger into the hair on both sides of her head to keep her still. Addie whimpered lustfully as he started to nibble. Damon growled, trying to be quiet, as she dug her nails into the muscles at his shoulder again. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you enjoyed teasing me," he taunted, giving her a sharper hip. Fingers flying to Damon's head and keeping him close, she groaned loudly. "Addie," he mocked, "be quiet!"

"Ass," she gasped, when he gave a much harder bite, which turned into a long moan. Instinctively, her hips flexed upwards searching for _something_ as he applied more pressure. Her breathing was fast and labored as she ran her nails down his back, making him grunt. Reaching the waistband of his jeans, she looped her fingers in his belt loops on either side of his hips and tried to pull his over hers.

Damon eased back from his firm bite on her neck. He ran his tongue over the area, soothing it. Finally, he gave it a kiss before pulling away. Feeling Addie tug more insistently at his pants, he slipped a hand from her hair and used it to pull her hands away. "Enough," he said firmly, laying on his side. He saw her open her mouth to protest but gently placed a finger over her lip. "That's far enough, Addison."

"You're right," she grumbled, turning to face him.

In the flash of moonlight, Damon thought he saw something on neck. Sitting up, he flicked on the blue and green lava lamp on her nightstand.

Addie watched the way the muscles rippled under his skin tantalizingly as he moved. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously, tracing around the top of his boxers.

He brushed Addie's hand away so he could lean back on his hip and elbow. Reaching out, he took Addie's chin between his thumb and forefinger. Gently he tilted her head up and from side to side, biting his lip at what he saw.

"What's going on?" she asked slowly.

Damon's brow furrowed as he concentrated on piercing the pad of his index finger with his thumbnail. When a small bubble of blood appeared, he carefully held out his finger to Addie. "You need to drink," he insisted when she looked at him in confusion.

"Why?"

"Well," he frowned, brushing his fingers over a spot that was already starting to purple, "I swear I'm sorry and I promise I didn't mean to but...ah, well, lets just say that everyone will know I was here come tomorrow if you don't."

"What?" she snapped, her hand flying to her throat. "You left a mark?"

"I didn't mean to," he stressed apologetically. "Hey," he said quietly, balancing his finger as he brushed his lips against her cheek, "there is at least one perk to a vampire boyfriend: all the fun you want without the worry of hickeys."

Addie grabbed Damon's hand and pulled his extended digit to her mouth. He bit back a groan as she wrapped her lips around the tip of his finger, curling her tongue to get the drop of blood off. She pulled back, realizing it with a wet sounding pop. "For the record, you're not my boyfriend," she reminded him.

He held her chin again to inspect her neck; all signs of discoloration and redness faded. "I know. You've made your relationship phobia very clear. The blood will be out of your system by the time you wake up," he replied, looking around the room for his shirt.

"It's not a fear," she denied, stroking a finger down the center of his chest to his bellybutton.

"Oh?" he asked in mock surprise, kissing her forehead.

"It's simply an aversion." She huffed, seeing he was distracted. "You're shirt is behind us. Do you have to go though?" she mumbled meekly, grabbing at his arm when he sat up.

Damon looked at her curiously, "What are you playing at, Ads?"

She shook her head and blushed scarlet, letting go of him, "Nothing. I just… It's been… I miss you, ok?"

"I'm kind of glad to hear that," he chuckled. "Now I don't feel like such an idiot for missing you."

She snorted, "Between rescuing my sister and Rose you had time to miss me?"

He rubbed a hand over his face slowly, "You _are _upset that I had sex with her."

Addie thought about this as she crawled around Damon to properly lay in her bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin. "I'm not upset," she decided. "I'm just, well, not _hurt_ but it sucks to know you're attracted to me but I'm not enough. I mean, you just made an illusion to being my _boyfriend_ and accused me of being afraid of relationships. Of course I would be afraid of a relationship with you. Your celibacy lasted, what was it? Two months? Do you know how long you would have to wait if we were actually together? _Much_ longer. I'd be terrified of you cheating on me."

Damon kicked off his shoes and swung his legs onto the bed and laid back besides Addie. "I can swear to you up and down that I would never do that to you because I care about you," whispered Damon wistfully, looking up at the ceiling, "but you would never believe me unless you were sure in yourself."

"I wou-" Addie started but was cut off when Damon reached over and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"I'm well aware of my reputation and that it alone could cause you to be suspicious of me," he acknowledged, keeping his hand in place and eyes on the ceiling, "but, really, Ads, you couldn't doubt how much I care about you. I _really _wanted to kill Katherine but I didn't so I wouldn't hurt your sister. I walked into unknown danger to save your sister. That's not even half of what I've done this week and all because I care about you. If I've resisted the urge to kill the person I hate most in the world and have put my life in danger for you, I think it's unquestionable that I could control my sexual urges as to not hurt you. In fact, for the past two months, all my desires that I've fought have been caused by you!

"With Rose, I just let her seduce me. I didn't push her away because why? Like you said, we're not responsible to each other. And even though I have no obligation to you, I still feel like a filthy piece of scum for what I did and I feel a million times worse knowing that you're hurt by what I did. If I feel like this and we're not even together, can you imagine how torn up I would be if I _actually _cheated on you?" Damon rubbed both his hands over his face, frowning, "Addie, I can't - I don't - it hurts me to even think about how badly you would be hurt if I did that to you. God, Ads, that would be a nightmare. But it doesn't matter how much it would hurt me to hurt you. You're always going to wonder if I'm cheating on you if you have this bogus idea that you aren't enough for me. I understand that me having sex with Rose has made you think that, but that was never my intention. You are everything and more for me. " Damon dropped his hands from his face, letting the words he just said sink in.. "Oh, wow," he mumbled to himself. Damon turned to his side and saw her watching him. Cupping her cheek, he gave her a small, shaky smile, "You're everything for me, Ads."

"And you're my sun and moon, Damon," Addie choked out, fighting to keep a straight face.

He rested his head against Addie's forehead, frowning, "I'm being serious, Ads. I am so sorry that what I did hurt you."

Pulling his hand from her face, Addie shook her head against the pillow. "Don't be sorry," she insisted. "I'm just being overly sensitive. I have no right to you and you have no obligation to me."

"Still," he muttered, watching her trace the outlines of his abdominal muscles. They twitched and jumped under the tickle of her feather light touch. Sighing, he traced his thumb over her lip, "God, I want to kiss you more than ever before."

"I won't stop you," she encouraged, feeling his finger still against her lip.

Leaving his thumb covering both her bottom and top lip, he gently pressed his against hers for a few seconds.

Addie laughed when he pulled away, "What was that?"

"An almost kiss," he sighed, "which is as close as I'll get until Saturday."

"That's just dumb," she scowled.

"Hey!" he chastised lightly. "My boundaries are so I don't screw this up more than I'm already prone to do. You're everything for me. I don't want to lose you over something stupid," he finished lamely.

Hey eyebrows knitted as she focus on scraping her thumbnail down the thin patch of hair that led from the bottom of his bellybutton. She pushed down the hem of his boxers slightly to finish tracing his treasure trail at the top of his jeans. She smirked when Damon let out a strangled, choked sound somewhere between a whimper and groan. Addie went to repeat this when he grabbed at her wrist.

"Addison," he growled dangerously, "don't do that."

"Just for the record, I'm not yours to lose," she snapped, yanking her hand from his grasp.

Damon raised a challenging eyebrow at her, "You're my Ads. You're everything for me. I am more than capable of losing you."

"Stop saying that," she ground out, shoving hard at his chest.

"Whoa, whoa," Damon started in surprise, grabbing both her wrist in one hand. "What is your problem? Stop saying what?"

She rolled her eyes in exasperation, "That I'm everything for you! What does that even mean?"

Damon scoffed in disbelief, "Do you have a problem with it or something?"

Addie nodded, "Yeah. It makes no sense."

"It doesn't make sense that you're the perfect girl for me? That _you_ are why I'm here, in this town, doing so many stupid and ridiculous things? That you're so important to me that I don't care about what I'm doing? That you're on my mind most of the time? That your happiness directly links to mine? That you-"

"Shut up!" she cried over him. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

His lips pursed and nostrils flared as he breathed deeply, "It's that awful, is it? Me caring about you."

"You only care about you, Damon," snapped Addie. She pushed a hand through her hair, sighing deeply. "You can't care about me so much."

Dumbfounded, he shook his head, "Why not?"

"It's too much pressure," she whispered. "I could hurt you. I don't want to hurt you, Damon."

Dropping one of her wrist, he stroked the inside of the other, "Then stop. Don't push me away. You think that what you're doing now doesn't hurt?"

Damon knew he was getting to her when he saw her lips twitch into a frown. "I'm sorry," she whispered, placing a hand over his heart, his skin cool under her fingers. He was like a perfectly chiseled, marble statue. "You're beautiful, you know," she mumbled unconsciously, running her hand over his pectoral.

"I would prefer something more masculine but from you," he said, smiling at her fondly, "I'll take what I can get."

"You're so vain," she grumbled.

"It's not vanity if you know you're perfect specimen of man," he smirked. winking at her.

Addie laughed, "I didn't realize you were James Dean."

Damon scoffed, "James Dean? James Dean was a dick… even compared to me!"

"'Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.' That's deep, Damon. I've never heard you say something so profound. Dick or not, Dean beats Salvatore," she said simply.

"That's just because I don't need to be deep and profound. I don't need to dream because I will live forever and because of that, I don't have to live as if I'll die today. It's really very bad advice. Besides, my sex appeal is so much greater," he stated confidently, tousling his already tumbled hair.

Addie bit back a grin, "Because I like you, I'll let you in on a secret. It's all about the hair, Damon, and right now, you're not about to win any contest."

Groaning, he covered his face with his hands, "Ugh! I know! Don't look at me!" Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair again, tugging at it. "Ew. It feels like it dried how it use to, like 150 years ago."

"All over the place?" Addie guessed.

"No, well, sorta. Is it kinda wavy through the length and curling up at the ends?" he muttered, still fingering his hair.

"Pretty much. If you wanted someone to play with it, you could have asked," she smiled, watching him.

Damon paused and raised an eyebrow at her, "Yeah?" When she nodded, he scooted down the bed until his head rest near the elbow. He hummed with contentment as he felt her start to feather different sections of his hair. "Want a confession?"

"Of course," she answered softly, "you know I love learning your little secrets."

Dryly, he remarked, "Yes, i'm hoping you don't go rattling them off one day."

Addie rolled her eyes, "We've been over this. I wouldn't do that to you. Besides, no one would believe 90% of what you've told me. You're the big bad vampire who builds gingerbread houses and makes smiley vampire face pancakes."

"Emphasis on the 'big bad vampire' part, thank you. One of my very first memories is of having a cold or something, I just know I was sick. I had chills from a fever because I was freezing. It must have been pretty bad, though, because my hair was drenched from my mother wetting it with cold water. It was the middle of the day but she sang me this old Welsh lullaby called All Through the Night. The lullaby, it mentions stars and I remember asking where they went during the day and why she was sing about them when they were gone. My mom just kept playing with my hair and saying 'sleep, Dammy-dew, sleep' and I guess I eventually did because my memory fades," he recalled fondly.

"Dammy-dew?" Addie giggle.

"Tell anyone that, call me that, say it ever again and I'll make sure you regret it," he growled threateningly

"Aww," Addie pouted, "but I think it's cute, _Dammy_," she grinned, ruffling his hair.

Damon snorted, "Yeah, it was adorable when I was a four-year-old rugrat."

"You sound like an adorable rugrat," she smiled.

He shook his head, "I was an inquisitive little pain in the ass until I was about six or seven and actually learned what manners were. That's when I became a perfect, adorable child and grew into a perfect gentleman, for the most part."

"Yeah," Addie said slowly, "Katherine mentioned you were once sweet and polite. I don't either one of you."

He laughed, "I know it's hard to believe but it's true. I was even what you could call a polite vampire for awhile. Only feeding when I had to. Never playing with my food. I really was a bore, like Katherine said. But I think you would have liked human me. I was quite charming."

"Mmm...I don't know," Addie debated. "Human you wouldn't have fought with me. I kind of like that part of you."

Though Addie couldn't see his face from him lying near her elbow, he raised an eyebrow, "You actually _like_ fighting with me?"

"Have you not noticed me with my siblings? I love bickering with them, You have actual wit to spar with; bickering with you is even better. I hate actually fighting with you, though. When we fight, I wonder who's going to be the first to snap," she chuckled.

"You," he nodded quickly, "definitely you. You've staked me twice; I've broken your neck zero times."

"Well, the first time you ripped Bonnie's throat out and she would have died had your brother not been there and the second time you were manhandling my brother and had your teeth bared, making you a threat to his safety. You would have broken my neck had the situation been reversed and Stefan the victim," Addie said defensively.

He was quiet for a minute. "Fair enough," he conceded. Damon glanced at the clock on her nightstand. "I should go," he sighed. "It's past two and you have class in the morning."

Addie groaned, pulling at his hair, "Noooooo. I don't want you to go."

"If you promise to go to sleep, I'll stay until you do," he compromised, sliding back up the bed and resting his head on the pillow next to hers.

"Fine," she grumbled, "but just so you know, I don't like waking up with you gone."

He rolled his eyes and put a few more pillows under his head. "And I don't like when it rains just after I've washed my car," he said flatly.

Addie giggle, "I still can't believe you wash it by hand. I'm gonna have to see that some time."

Damon reached over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest, "You should; I look pretty damn sexy doing it."

"You always think you look sexy," she replied, stifling a yawn.

He laughed, tugging at his hair, "Not tonight."

She reached up and ruffled the midnight locks, "I think this is your best look. Tousled, shirtless, unguarded. Did I mention tousled? You're cute all disheveled."

"Sleep, my Ads," whispered Damon, pulling her hand from his hair.

"Ok," she mumbled in defeat. "Hey, Damon?" she spoke softly, cutting through several minutes of silence.

He hummed in response, continuing to stroke his hand up and down her back.

"Katherine's idea to get me to resist compulsion-"

"You mean hurting you over and over again?" he interrupted in disgust.

She frowned, "It didn't hurt when you compelled me to not feel it." His tenseness beneath her suggested this wasn't much of a consolation. "Will you please continue the process?" she begged.

"Ver-"

"Damon," she said, cutting him off, "I hope to someday live a life free of supernatural nonsense but I'm always going to know vampires are out there. I don't want to have to spend the rest of my life dependent on a plant for protection."

"Fine," he scowled.

She placed a kiss softly on her chest, "I know you don't like it but thank you for doing it for me. It means a lot. Besides, it gives us a reason to have more nights together and I've really missed those. I'm glad you came over. Nights like tonight are kind of like the silver lining of the great dark storm cloud that is vampires."

"I'm glad I came over, too," he smiled, squeezing her tighter. When her breathing slowed and deepened he whispered, "You're the silver lining of my everything."

* * *

**A/N: Whew! Over 20k words... Sorry if that dragged out. Thank you guys for reading, following, adding this as a favorite and especially for reviewing! These are some seriously long chapters and it's encouraging to have the reviews as I fumble my way through writing them! You guys are the greatest. **


	25. Chapter 28

Scorching heating morphed a lock of Addie's dark purple into loose ringlets as Elena held the curling iron to it. A shimmery eyeshadow just a few shades darker than Addie's skin tone was carefully applied by Bonnie. The younger girl sat fidgety in her sister's vanity chair in the bathroom, wishing the other girls would stop playing beauty shop.

Turning back to the counter, the witch looked through the makeup spread out for the dusky pink blush she wanted. Finding, she twisted off the cap and ran a large applicator brush across the pressed powder a few times while commenting, "You know, I still can't believe you're actually going on a date with Damon."

As Bonnie skated the brush across the apples of her cheeks, Addie scowled, "I will get up right now and you guys can find a new Barbie to play with if you guys are going to start judging."

"I'm not judging," Bonnie bit back defensively. "I'm just genuinely surprised. You use to hate the guy."

Addie responded with amusement, "A lot of the time I still do, or at least I find him as annoying as hell."

"Then why are you going out with him?" Elena muttered, trying not to show her envy but it had become hard and hard the closer Addie and Damon's date approached.

In the mirror, Addie saw the frown on her sister's face as Elena focused on wrapping a large section of hair around the iron and clamping it down. "Because, for awhile now, there have been moments when I've seen a completely different side him. Don't get me wrong, he's still a complete ass but he's not a self-serving dick."

The witch shook her head as she looked for a lip stick, "Still not judging but just out of curiosity, why go out with him if he's still an ass?"

"Because he doesn't mind when I'm a bitch. It's not like he's mean; he's just kind of pushes my buttons," Addie tried to explain.

Elena caught Bonnie's gaze in the mirror and raised her eyebrows. Bonnie was certain they were both thinking the same thing. The other girl gave her a small, pleading smile. Reluctantly, she sighed; Bonnie knew Elena was right; she had to be the one to say something because Addie wouldn't listen to her sister. "Honey, that's not how a relationship should be. It doesn't sound healthy," she said gently.

"Judging," Addie berated, sweeping the witch's hand and the light pink lipstick out of her face. She leaned forward to look across the bathroom counter to find the one she wanted.

"Hey! I'm trying to work," snapped Elena, as Addie's movement hand caused the strands she had been working with to slip from her fingers.

Plucking out the classic red lipstick from the clutter, she held it out to Bonnie. "We're not in a relationship; we're friends. Damon and I don't actually fight, for the most part. We just see who can annoy the other more and then laugh about it. It's perfectly fine. I'm happy when I'm with him, even when he's being a pain. There's nothing wrong with it. I appreciate you looking out for me, Bon, but I know him a lot better than you think."

Elena and Bonnie shared another look as the latter grabbed the lipstick from Addie. The witch nodded, "Alright, just be careful. Open."

"It's just one experimental date. I'm not selling my soul," Addie quipped, parting her lips so Bonnie could apply the last bit of makeup.

Done with the curling iron, Elena turned it off and set it on a clear space on the countered. "If anyone could charm you into doing so, it would be Damon," she snarked.

Addie scowled and stood up, "Enough. Thank you guys very much for helping me get ready but, well, you guys are both done and I kind of, well my nerves are getting to me so i'm just going to listen to some music until he gets here."

"Hold it!" called Elena after her sister as her hand was on the doorknob to her room. When Addie gave her a wary look, she held up a can of hairspray. "I'm not done."

She shook her head, "I'm good. That makes my hair all crunchy; I don't like it."

Elena scoffed, "You need it though! Otherwise the curls are going to fall out."

"They'll last long enough," Addie insisted, walking into her room and quickly closing the door before Elena could say anything more. Sighing, she leaned against the wood. Was everyone going to scrutinize and judge if she and Damon did get together? Was everyone else right and she blind to a crucial flaw? With the tips of her fingers she pushed herself off the door and over to her dresser. Grabbing a Kleenex she blotted off some of the cherry red on her lips. With a bobbypin, she secured her twisting bangs in place so that they just covered the corner of her eye. Katherine may have been an evil bitch but Addie had to admit she owed her a thanks for learning what Damon would find attractive.

In her closet she found her red high-top Converse to go with the simple, off-the-shoulder candy apple red sundress that cinched under her chest and billowed out around her legs. Addie didn't particularly care to be in a dress but after Elena had dragged her around the mall for two hours, she had agreed to it, simply to leave. Her sister had made some snide comment about blood when she insisted on getting the dress in red, remembering Damon had said he liked that color on her when he had picked out her pajamas the night he caught her in a towel. Addie had _accidently _jabbed Elena in the ribs when she put back the black version Elena had preferred.

Making a pit stop at her dresser for a pair of socks, Addie went to her bed and pulled on her socks and shoes. She glanced at her clock; still 27 minutes until Damon arrived, assuming he showed up on time. Wishing she could make time go faster, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand.

_Addie: When are you getting here?_

A slight sense of ease settled over her when he responded right away.

**Damon: At 3, just like I told you twenty times before. **

_Addie: Can't you come any sooner? Bonnie and Elena are being judgey._

**Damon: Oh, whine. I know you can handle ten times whatever they throw at you. I'll see you soon.**

Slipping her phone into the pocket of her dress, she scowled. The unhelpful, insensitive jerk. Her hands twitched nervously, aching to run through her hair, Not wanting to undo her curls, she decided she needed something to do with them. Getting up, she crossed to her laptop and opened up ProTools. Glancing at the London College of Music of the University of West London scholarship application, she opened the last song she had been working on and plugged in her headphones.

* * *

Rolling to a stop in front of the Gilbert house, Damon threw the gearshift into park. He quickly checked his reflection in the rearview mirror, flipping up his jacket collar and smoothing it down. The door to car closed a little harder than he intend. He swore to himself. His nerves were getting the better of him, distracting him from simple things he never even had to think about anymore like human strength. More mindful, he lifted and rapped the door knocker three took seven seconds for someone to get the door.

"Damon," Alaric frowned, opening the door but blocking the entrance.

He smirked, knowing how much the man disapproved of the date; yet, he had still agreed to answer the door if there was the chance of Jenna doing so instead. Alaric might not approve but he didn't have the power to ground Addie. "Afternoon, Ric, " he said with a two fingered wave. "Addie ready?"

Alaric shook his head, "Wouldn't know. She hasn't been down here."

"Think you could figure out if she is?" he bit out, forcing a friendly smile.

"Jeremy," called the other man over his shoulder into the living.

The teenager appeared behind Alaric, a sketch pad and pencil in his hand. "What's up? Oh," he scowled, seeing Damon.

"Can go you go get your sister?" Alaric asked.

Tapping the pencil against his chin, Jeremy bit his lip in thought, "Can't we just leave her up there and tell her he never appeared when she eventually wanders down and ask?"

"I don't think she'll believe you," Damon sang softly, grinning smugly. "Besides, I might be wrong but I think that would hurt her. You wouldn't want to be responsible for that, would you?"

Addie's brother scoffed, "Seriously? How - how is this nightmare even happening? How can she not see what a dick you are?"

Seeing Damon about to make a smart remark, Alaric jumped in, "Go get her, Jeremy."

The boy grumbled, stalking up the stairs.

"Just so you know," Alaric warned, "you may be my friend but if you hurt her, I'll kill you."

"That's cute. She won't even call you by your first name since you basically killed her. Remember, I was the hero and saved her from your fatal stab wound? Not to mention that she's actually managed to stake me while you couldn't. If I was worried about someone hurting me if I hurt her it would be her," Damon pointed out, unphased by the threat.

Jeremy appeared back at the bottom of the stairs, "Sorry but she's not answering. Guess she's realized her mistake and is bailing on you."

"Knock harder," growled Damon.

He groaned and stomped up the stairs. Banging could be heard downstairs. Damon smiled when he saw Addie taking the stairs two at a time. He laughed when she shoved Ric aside and slipped out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

"Run," she whispered, taking his hand and tugging him after her as she made her way across and down the porch.

"Ok," laughed Damon, jogging lightly, passing her.

Addie scoffed, matching his pace as he led her across the front yard and to his car, "I wasn't being literal, you twit."

"You mean you mean you messed up my charming hello for no reason?" he pouted, leaning against the passenger door.

She raised her eyebrows at him, "You had a speech planned?"

"Not so much planned," he deflected, tucking the lock of hair that brushed her eye behind his ear. "You're wearing a dress."

"Oh, um, yeah," blushed Addie, smoothing the fabric, "is that ok?"

He shrugged, brushing his fingers across her bare shoulder and down to tug at her sleeve, "It works for what we're doing but I said to wear something you're comfortable in. I thought that was more jeans and plaid for you.

Addie sighed, "That is more me but it is apparently not appropriate for a first date. Elena dragged me shopping as part of her supportive sister act. She decided on the dress, mostly. I picked the color. It's comfortable enough."

"Whatever you want to wear is appropriate when you're with me, Ads," he stated clearly. "The dress is great. I mean the color looks beautiful on you. But all dressed up or in your Ravens' sweatshirt, you always look stunning to me. You can go back in and change if you want. You don't have to try and impress me; you already won me over."

"Going back in there would be far more uncomfortable than wearing this dress," she muttered bitterly. His brow furrowed in confusion and she huffed, "Everyone in there is completely against this."

Damon nodded, "I can understand that; I mean none of them want to see you hurt and I'm not exactly known for having the best romances. Plus, you're the baby of the family; they're going to be extra protective of you. "

"Or they have a better read on you than I do," Addie challenged, crossing her arms.

Not wanting to be caught by Jenna, Damon checked to make sure the blinds and windows were drawn on the front window of the house. "Maybe," he doubted, slipping a hand around to the small of her back and taking one of her hands to cup his cheek, "but do you really think so? Do we feel wrong to you? I know I'm not perfect, Ads, but I feel perfect when I'm with you."

Addie smiled, rubbing at his cheek, "Do you get paid for every cheesy line you say?"

"No, I just pull them out when I need to make you smile," he grinned, pulling her close to him,

"Right," she drew out in disbelief. "You didn't shave," she noted, dropping her hand from his cheek to the collar of his black leather jacket.

Damon waggled his eyebrows back and forth at her, "Not since Thursday morning. I know how you like me scruffy looking."

"Oh, this is _so_ fair; to prepare for this date I get tortured by my best friend and sister and you just have to be lazy," she scoffed.

"Hey," he started defensively, "I _did_ have to shave from the neck down. Neck breads, neck scruff, any hair on the neck is never sexy, at least not on me. It's called facial hair for reason. Plus, it's itchy."

Addie rolled her eyes, "Give me a break. I had to shave my legs; that's a lot more area to cover than your neck."

Raising an eyebrow, he smirked and leaned in towards her and murmurer huskily into her ear, "I'll let you stroke my neck if you let me stroke your legs."

Pushing at his chest and turning scarlet she mumbled, "You're an ass."

"I'm going to take that as code for 'later,'" he laughed, opening the car door for her.

"No," she insisted and shook her head, purple curls swirling around her face, "I mean you're an ass." Balancing a hand against his chest, she reached up and pressed a light kiss to his cheek before getting in the car.

Behind the wheel, Damon slipped the key into the ignition and turned it forward. His grip on the wheel was so tight that the thin veins could be seen under his knuckles. "Ready for this?" he asked quietly, glancing at Addie, who was picking at invisible lint on her dress.

"Yep," she squeaked.

He reached over and grabbed her hand, "It's going to be ok. You don't have to be nervous; it's just me."

"So, you're not nervous?" Addie skeptically questioned.

Damon scoffed, pulling away from the curb, "Are you kidding? I'm right on the edge of petrified. It's _you_."

"But I'm not suppose to be nervous of you?" she laughed, squeezing his hand and threading their fingers together.

"Like I told you," he grinned, brushing his lips across the back of her hand, "you've already won me over."

Addie nodded, looking out the window, "If you say so. Where we headed?"

He considered this, "Well, I think it's pretty unfair that you missed out on the school carnival being in the hospital. Junk food, games, prizes; it could have been pretty fun had there not been a newborn vampire, a dead body, oh, and that part where the witch almost roasted me alive. I thought you should get a chance to join in on the fun."

"I'm not really following," admitted Addie, "but if I get to light you on fire, it doesn't sound so awful."

"You're hilarious," Damon sneered,

She smirked at him, "Aren't I?"

"No, I lied but you are adorable," he replied, briefly looking from the road to give her an impish grin. He faltered when she didn't return it. "There will be no vampires, besides yours truly, no dead bodies, and no setting me on fire. We're just going up to North Shore for some fun."

"North Shore? Like North Shore Boardwalk?" Addie asked in amusement.

Slowly, he licked at his lips. Letting go of the steering wheel, he wiped his clammy palm against the rough fabric of his jeans. "Well, we can go somewhere else," he offered.

She shook her head quickly, "No, no way. North Shore is great, Damon. I haven't been there in years."

"Good, good," he sighed in relief. The silence in the car grew more and more uncomfortable the further out from town they drove. Damon looked at her from the corner of his eyes. Unlocking his hand from hers, he reached up and pulled at a curl straight, smiling when it sprung back. "This is going to be a really long, uncomfortable drive if we spend it not talking," he pointed out.

"What do you want to talk about?" asked Addie quietly, not turning from the high stalks of corn that passed them by.

"Were you going to stand me up?" he asked hesitantly.

Addie scoffed and turned in her seat, resting her back against the door, "Why would you even ask that? I asked you to come over _sooner_, remember?"

Damon shrugged, "I don't know. I thought you might have gotten cold feet at the last minute. I mean, it sounded like Jeremy had to bust down your door."

"Cold feet? You make it sound like I would have been a runaway bride," she laughed. "I just had my headphones on. I was-"

When she cut off abruptly, he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "You were what?"

"You have to promise not to make fun of me if I tell you," insisted Addie.

"Fair enough," he nodded.

She scratched at her eyebrow, hesitating. "You know how I play music?"

He snickered, "You may have mentioned it when you called me cliche because you're jealous that I can play the guitar and you can't."

"No, I called you cliche because the guitar is cliche," she retorted. "Anyways, I don't just play music. I compose and record my own stuff, too. I know it sounds childish and stupid but it's… well, I love it. Jeremy draws, Elena writes, and I make music. My parents were big on encouraging creative outlets. My dad even converted the attic into like a soundproof area for me for me to practice and stuff for my twelfth birthday. Although, I think that was more of a gift for everyone else; they can't really hear when I play the drums anymore.

"When you showed up I was mixing a song for a scholarship contest. I normally do all my work in the attic where I can mix at 85 decibels from speakers but I was nervous about the date and I kind of needed a distraction to focus on."

Addie's head was bowed and her cheeks were a deeper red than just the light covering of makeup would have made them. "Ads, I think that's pretty cool. I would never make fun of you for doing something that you love," he reassured her, dropping a hand from the wheel to grab hers again. "Tell me more about this contest," encouraged Damon.

"Ah," she stalled, "that's where it gets more embarrassing. Every kid with a hint of musical talent and a computer can record themselves; it's not that cool. Have you been on Youtube? I'm stupid and arrogant enough to take it a step further. Not that I've ever put anything I've made on Youtube, just so we're clear. Every summer the London College of Music host a program for high schoolers ranging from composition, to performance, to music management and music technology. It's a really amazing program. Some of the greatest producers and mixers in the music business teach at it and so many more attended it. Predictably, it's very, very expensive. My only chances of getting to go are if I'm awarded one of the scholarships."

Perplexed, Damon couldn't resist asking, "Why didn't you tell me you were so interested in music? You sound so excited when you talk about this."

"It's embarrassing," she muttered. "The idea of wanting to grow up and be a successful music producer? I sound like a kid saying they're going to be the next astronaut."

He shook his head, "No, saying you were going to be the next Beyonce would make you sound like a kid dreaming beyond their reach. I don't know much about the music business but there have to be tons of people who work behind the scene. There's a whole section of the Grammy's dedicated to them and that's reserved for like the best of the best."

"Exactly," Addie snorted, "I want a job in a field where there are ridiculous awards given out. Doesn't it sound a bit childish?"

"You once told me you had your life mapped out before vampires. Do you have a plan on how you plan on getting a job in the field?"

She sighed heavily, "Not exactly. I planned on finding placement through college connections; I mean, most of the universities I'm going to apply to require internships for graduation and help you get placed into them. The music business is all about networking, really. You have to know someone who knows someone who knows someone. I don't know anyone, which is partly why I have to start with getting a degree, the majority of audio engineers and producers don't have one."

"That sounds pretty planned to me," Damon mused. "I mean, would it be much different if you were going for a job in electrical engineering?"

"No," conceded Addie.

Damon turned from the road long enough just to wink at her, "Point made. So, what are you chances of getting this scholarship? Are your songs any good?"

"Let me put it this way: I'm good enough that I've put in all my free time this week into coming up with three different works, all of which I've decided aren't the best I can do, and I'm going to continue to spend my free time slaving over something until the application deadline. However, the actual chances of me getting a scholarship when they probably get hundreds of submissions is almost nothing. People record in actual studios with professional grade equipment and have more experience with this stuff than I do. Every I know is self taught," she finished lamely, feeling defeated.

Damon smiled and squeezed her hand, "You know, I'm sure you're a lot better than you think. You have a tendency to underestimate yourself, Ads. I happen to be an excellent judge of music; you should let me hear what you've created and I'll tell you whether it's any good or not."

"Ha! No way in hell!" she responded quickly. "_Nobody_ has ever heard anything I've made or written. I'm not about to let you hear."

"Why not?" he pouted.

"It's private," she squealed.

He snorted and rolled his crystal like eyes, "So private that nobody you know can hear it but you'll send it off for a bunch of strangers to listen to?"

"Glad you understand," replied Addie innocently.

Damon laughed, "You do realize if you actually want a job as a music producer, people will have to hear what you do."

"Obviously," she exaggerated, "but I'm not going to know them really well. Sharing my stuff with you would be like letting you read my diary or letting you have a look inside my head; it's not a big deal if a stranger does it but I don't want someone I'm close to knowing me that… intimately."

Huffing, he pouted, "Fine. Is everything you write all instrumental?"

Addie shook her head slowly, turning scarlet, "No."

"So you sing?" Damon smirked.

Her eyebrows furrowed at this, "No, Damon. I've been in choir since elementary school neighing like a horse."

"You never told me you took choir," he said defensively.

"Yes, I did," she insisted.

He shook his head, "I remember everything you've ever told me about yourself, Ads; you've never mentioned choir.

"It's one of my electives: Latin, track, computer science and choir. I'm sure I've told you before," persisted Addie.

"Nope. Besides the track, do you realize how much of a nerd you are?" Damon chuckled.

Dropping his hand, she leaned over and slugged him lightly in the shoulder.

"Hey!" he whined, rubbing at his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"Only I get to call me a nerd," she scowled. "Besides, you're ruining your own bad boy cred by going out with a nerd."

He laughed, "I have plenty of that; going out with you hardly does a thing to my reputation."

Addie smirked, "You're right. You've been cleaning up your reputation all on your own."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, looking at her warily.

"Nothing," she shrugged. "Just, when was the last time you actually did something really bad?"

Damon scoffed and sneered, "Are you implying I'm going soft? Turning good?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," she replied stiffly with pinched lips. "It was a week ago you were torturing Mason Lockwood for fun. I just can't help but notice that it's been awhile since you've actually killed someone. Mason excluded, considering he tried to kill you first and would have tried again."

"Don't confuse my lack of killing with a lack of desire, Addie," he ground out, pulling his hand from hers. "I can't exactly do whatever I want and manage to keep a low profile at the same time."

Addie shook her head, crossing her arms in front of her, "I don't doubt your desire but you've obviously found a more compelling reason to _not _kill."

"And you think you're that reason," mocked Damon.

"No," she snapped, "my ego isn't nearly the size of yours. I'm certain you're working some angle; I just don't know what it is."

His lips twitched as he bit back a scathing retort. Angry silence filled the confining space. The flat plains gave way to rocky beaches which morphed into smooth, sandy dunes. After 45 minutes of tense silence, Damon was turning into a parking lot. Neither one moved to get out.

"If you're just going to be a crank the whole time, we might as well turn around," muttered Addie.

The crease in Damon's forehead deeded as he drummed his finger against the steering wheel column. "I'm not cranky," he replied eventually, the frown not leaving his face.

"You're right. You have an award winning attitude right now," she quipped sarcastically.

"I'm not cranky," he repeated lowly, "but I'm not happy with you judging me."

Addie rolled her eyes, not in the mood for one of Damon's attitudes, "I'm not judging you. You don't think I'm aware of who you are and what you care capable of? I've already accepted and come to terms with that. Doesn't mean I have to like it but it's part of who you are."

"Don't ask me to change," he ordered roughly.

She scornfully replied, "I'm not asking you to nor do I expect you to. All I did, Damon, was point out that you are behaving differently compared to when you first came to town."

"This date isn't going very well, is it?" Damon bitterly laughed.

"Nope," she agreed.

Addie watched in puzzlement as he got out of the car and came around to open her door. "What are you doing?" she asked in confusion.

He held out his hand to her and offered a small, apologetic smile, "Trying to start over. I don't want this last hour to define our date."

She nodded, unbuckling her seat belt and letting him help her out the car. "You _did_ promise me a good time," she reminded him with a small smile.

"Then let's have one, shall we?" he grinned charmingly, tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow.

"Indeed," agreed Addie, allowing Damon to lead the way.

The sounds of cawing seagulls, boisterous children and the music from rides filled the air. Feelings of butterflies began to flutter in Addie's stomach as they stopped from the asphalt to the wood of the boardwalk. Inconspicuously wiping his hand on his black jeans first, Damon reached for Addie's hand.

"What shall we do first," he asked, bouncing anxiously on the balls of his feet. "Games? Food? Rides? Shopping? Your choice."

"My choice? In that case, games. I'm going to enjoy kicking your butt," Addie smirked, pulling him down the strip.

Damon laughed, "Yeah, right. Even if I wasn't already amazing at everything, you're forgetting that I have a few extra advantages over you."

Stopping in her tracks, Damon's arm was pulled backwards when he tried to walk past her, making him stop and turn back at her. "You wouldn't really cheat against me, would you?"

"Not on purpose," he said slowly, "but it's kind of a natural thing at this point, Ads."

"Fine," she shrugged. "I guess we'll just compete in games of luck and skill and in the others you will simply win me prizes."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Really?"

"Yep," grinned Addie, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"Alright," he agreed. "Where to first?"

She smirked at him, "I'm guessing your little strength advantage might be a disadvantage at the horse races, you know, where you have to roll the balls into the hole worth the most points?"

"You don't think I can control my strength?" he asked, brushing his fingers up her arm with his free hand. He let a finger dance over the curve of her cheek and whispered suggestively, "You know I'm capable of soft, delicate touch."

"I guess we'll see how delicately you can handle the balls," she shrugged, pulling him towards the booth.

Damon snickered, "I have -"

"Finish that statement and you're no better than a teenage boy with his mind in the gutter," Addie cut him off quickly.

Handing over the money for them to play to the game attendant, Damon laughed, "I'm a guy; I'm not any better than that."

"You're gross," she muttered, taking a seat at one of the game booths. "You know, I could have paid for my own."

As he took the spot next to her he shook his head, "That's not how I do a date, Addie. If you're out with me, it's my treat."

Addie began to protest, "Damon-"

"I insist, Addie," he interrupted, cutting her off. "Call me old fashioned but that's how it's going to be." Damon could see her challenging look and that she was about to say something. Holding up a hand to stop her, he frowned at her, "Please, don't fight me on this. It's not like I don't have it. I can either spend it on you or a nice bottle of bourbon. Do you really want to insist on paying for yourself and fueling my supposed alcohol addiction?"

She rolled her eyes, "You're an idiot. You're buying the bourbon either way."

"Touche," he admitted, "but the more time I spend with you the less time I have for the bourbon meaning I don't go through it as fast so technically I wouldn't be buying it as much."

By this time more players had gathered and the attendant announced that the game was about to begin, preventing Addie from responding. Soon, three rubber balls were rolling down the inclined, under the playing board. Picking up a ball in each hand, Addie's strategy was to roll the balls up the ramp and into the three holes spread out as a triangle at the top as quick as possible. Many times she found that she put too much force behind the ball and it simply rolled over the small hole that it just barely fit into. Next to her, Damon moved slower, taking time to align the ball with the center hole, which would move his plastic horse the farther than if he made it into the side holes. At the sound of loud, high pitched siren both of them looked up eagerly/

"Yes!" Addie cried out throwing her fist into the air.

Damon scoffed, "You didn't even win!"

Addie shrugged, grinning at him, "Yeah but I beat you."

Eyes narrowed at Addie, Damon paid the attendant for them to play again. "Rematch," he challenged. "This time I'm not holding back," he smirked.

His stubble scraped again her as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You are such a sore loser," she whispered, quickly nipping at his earlobe.

"Oh, you are so evil," growled Damon as she sat back.

"I have no idea why you would say that," Addie smiled innocently.

"You're gonna pay," he grumbled, preparing for the game as the attendant announced it was going to start again.

The barricade blocking the balls fell, sending them back down towards Damon and Addie again. Figuring it was best not to mess with a winning routing, Addie stuck with her same strategy. Keep one eye trained on lining up his shot, Damon reached over and stole the free ball that wasn't in Addie's hand.

"Hey!" she snapped. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Damon grinned as he fired off one shot after another, using both his left and right hand, "Slowing you down, silly."

Addie reached over to grab her ball back. "You- hey!" she cried out when Damon swatted at her hand

"You're gonna lose if you don't focus, Ads," he teased, picking up his pace, accepting shots in the side holes rather just the center. He was going for speed over accuracy, now; keeping the balls moving meant less of an opportunity for Addie to grab at them.

The alarm went off again, alerting them of a winner. Addie scowled at the plastic jockey and horse with the number 7, it wasn't even halfway to the horse bearing the number 8. At least that horse fell just behind the winning one.

"Even cheating you still didn't win," she gloated, sticking her tongue out at Damon.

"Yeah, yeah," Damon grumbled, rolling the ball he took up Addie's game board, sinking it in the center. "But," he grinned, holding his hand out to her as he stood up, "I did beat you."

Frowning, she took his hand and let him lead her away from the booth, "Only because you cheated."

"It was just a game," he said gently, swing his arm around her shoulder. "I was only kidding around."

"Hmph."

Damon stopped, turning her to face him. "Hey, hey. Please don't be mad at me," he begged. "Please," he whispered, cupping her cheek when she continued to frown. "Come on, Addie," he mumbled, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I didn't mean to upset you. It was a joke."

"I'm not upset," she sighed, wrapping her arms around him in a hug, "I just wanted to win."

He hummed in thought, hugging her back, "How about I let you beat me at the strength tester?"

"I don't want you to let me win," she pouted.

"Well, if we're being honest, I wasn't playing full speed at the horse racing. If I had been, you wouldn't have had a chance at beating me," he sighed, pulling at her curls and watching them spring back.

"What game do you not have an advantage at?" she demanded as she pulled away.

Stroking at his chin, he feigned being deep in thought, "You know the game where you pick up the rubber duck in the water and if you get one with like a dot or sticker you win? I always lose at that."

Addie rolled her eyes, "That's so lame. I want to actually beat you at something."

"It will have to be in a battle of the minds then; I'm rigged to win the rigged carnival games," he sighed defeated.

"Chess!" she burst out as the idea struck her. "They have chessboards at the very end of the pier."

Damon laughed, grabbing her by the shoulders, "Addie, no. You can kick my ass at chess at home. We are _not _playing _chess_ on our first date because you have this insane desire to beat me. You said I have 'bad boy cred' but the truth is, I don't have enough for my reputation to survive if I play chess on a first date. Well, it could survive if it was strip chess but that's not happening. So, what do you want to do next?"

Her lips pursed, considering his question, "At what game are your advantages least useful?"

"Basketball," he answered without hesitation, "due to the smaller hoop and over inflated ball."

"And you have a natural height disadvantage," muttered Addie, biting back a grin.

Slipping his arms around her waist, Damon pulled her flush to him. "Excuse me?" he scoffed, looking down at her.

She fluttered her eyelashes at him innocently, having to tilt her head back and look up at him, "You're short."

"No, you're short. You're barely five feet. I can use you as a chin rest. I'm average height," he countered.

"I prefer the term 'fun sized' if you don't mind," Addie smirked, clasping her hands behind his neck.

He raised an eyebrow at her brazenly and muttered, "Will you show me just how fun?"

"You know," she sighed, cocking her head at him, "if I didn't know you were joking 99% of the time, you would be an incorrigible, perverted pain in the ass."

"I know!" he exclaimed in mock exaggeration. "To think that the day is going to come where I'm _not_ joking,,,, What ever will you do with me then?" her pretended to fret.

She shrugged, "Simply tell you 'no' until you learn to act like a gentleman and not a dog?"

Damon inhaled sharply, "Ouch! That burned."

"Guess you better learn to behave then," taunted Addie, parting from him and taking his hand in hers.

"Shall I start by winning you a prize that is a token of my affection?" he postulated.

"Sure but I'm not _really_ going to be impressed unless it's from basketball, considering you have an unfair advantage at everything else," she admitted.

He nodded once and set his jaw in fierce determination. "To my archnemesis, we go!" he said valiantly, pulling her in the direction of the basketball stand. "Alright, which one do you want?" asked Damon, waving at the vast array of stuffed animals and characters scattered around the booth.

"Whatever the first level prize is; I have a midnight curfew," joked Addie.

Smiling at her falsely, he asked, "Have I mentioned how hilarious you are, already?"

Addie wrapped herself around his arm and patted at his chest, saying in a mock baby voice, "You are just so cute when you're grumpy wumpy."

Tugging his arm away, Damon frowned at her, "You are so lucky you're adorable."

"You're lucky you're good looking. You certainly wouldn't win any Prince Charming competitions," she replied in a sing-song voice.

He scowled briefly before plastering on a smile and saying regally, "In slaying the dragon called Hoop with my blade called Ball, I intend to retrieve a treasure for my princess. Which one shall I get?"

Addie laughed, "You're a dork, my dear prince. How about you pick?"

"Ok," he mumbled, looking at the prizes in thought. "I would win you the largest just to prove I can but they're all pretty big and would be a pain to carry around the rest of the rest of the night." Damon pulled out a wallet and fished out a ten, passing it to the gawky attendant in a referee jersey, buying five shots. "Five baskets for the medium, yeah?"

"Yep," said the pimply teenager, passing a basketball to the vampire.

Damon bounced the ball once, twice against the ground. Cradling the ball between his hands, he aimed carefully, Spinning off the tips of his fingers, the orange orb soared through the air and perfectly through the center of the hip. Slow, sarcastic clapping sounded from Addie as the worker passed another ball to Damon. He repeated the process but this time the ball bounced up off the rim and into the hoop.

Smirking, he raised an eyebrow at Addie, "You done with the sarcastic clapping?"

"You got two in a row; you must be Michael Jordan," she smiled.

Dribbling the ball, Damon shook his head. "I don't know why," he paused to shoot and make another basket, "I bother trying to impress you."

Addie shrugged, "Don't ask me; I can't even begin to fathom how your twisted mind works."

Effortlessly, he made another shot. Grabbing the ball for his final shot, he turned to her, "I do it because you are worth it, Ads. I wish I could impress you just as easily as I'm about to make this last shot but you have no idea how glad I am I can't because then you would be just like every other girl. There's no fooling you, though. You see right through me." Still looking at her he let the ball fly from his hands, sending it through the hoop with soft _swoosh._

"Congratulations," drawled the worker. "You can choose any prize from here," he said in a bored voice, waving to the front and right side of the booth.

"How about the stuffed Edward Cullen doll?" smirked Damon,

Addie snorted, trying to hold back her laughter which turned into a coughing fit. "Yeah, sure. I'll take home to Elena and she can her book boy and her, uh, _real _boy," she snickered.

Damon chuckled, "I forgot about that. You came over talking about medical experiments and genetic mutations and thinking your sister had gone crazy for finding the Edward Cullen in Stefan. How about the floppy, fuzzy wolf?"

"That's a dog," she corrected.

"The ears are sticking up; it's a wolf."

"It's a husky, Damon."

"It's a wolf, Addie."

"Fine," she muttered, "it's a wolf. Are you picking it so you can rip it apart?"

"Irony, Ads, irony. We'll take the wolf," he told the worker, who passed him the large black and white stuffed animal. Tucking the furry thing under his arm, he grabbed Addie's hand and led her over to a bench that overlooked the shore. They sat, Damon wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

Addie leaned her head on his shoulder, "You need to get one of those machines that replicates the sound of the beach," she said after several comfortable minutes of silence.

Damon's brows knitted together in confusion. Tugging at her curls he kissed the top of her head. "Random, my Ads, random. I try to follow how your mind works but I can't do it; you make no logical sense. You drive me crazy. Ten types of crazy."

"Why do you always say ten types?" she questioned, wrapping an arm around his waist and turning her face into his neck. His familiar scent of nutmeg and sandalwood mixed with the salty ocean air.

He hesitated, carefully picking his words. "You confuse me. Just when I think I'm starting to understand you, you throw me a curve ball. You know how to frustrate the hell out of me with just a matter of words. Someone else saying what you say would make me angry and I would simply deal with them. When you say it though, I get _bothered_. I couldn't simply kill you even if that's what I wanted to do because I literally have to stop and work through being frustrated and bothered. I can be angry and function but I don't know how to deal with these new feelings and juggle at the same time. So the simple fact that I don't know how to be frustrating is frustrating itself. Really, being upset with you is about as painful as Bonnie's witchy mind trick where she makes my brain feel like it's on fire. It's a very complicated situation," he laughed to himself. "I mean, those are only the negative parts and one crazy isn't even enough to cover it all. It's like three types of bad crazy and seven types of… intense… crazy."

"How is it that I'm the one that makes no logical sense?" she muttered in amusement.

"Give me a break," he grumbled, ghosting his fingers over her bare shoulder and clavicle. "I have to process through being nervous around you, too. That's a sacred type of crazy that I will never fully understand, it seems. Now, how did you come to the decision that I need a sound machine?"

Addie scoffed, shaking her head, "It's not that hard to follow. We are at the beach and listening to the ocean. It sounds amazing. It's the sound of water. If Stefan's home and I'm over, you waste a crap load of water running the shower so he doesn't overhear us. Solution is a sound machine; I prefer the sound of the ocean."

"Ok," Damon nodded slowly. "Not completely linear but I followed. I'll get a sound machine. It will definitely sound more romantic than the shower. Hey!"

"Did I pinch you?" she gasped. "Oops!"

"You're so mean to me," he grumbled, rubbing a hand over the arm she had draped across his stomach.

"I'm seeing just exactly what it takes to finally push you away," she replied sarcastically.

Damon stiffened, "Well, I'm a sucker for pain and women who torment me. I spent 145 years loving a girl who felt it was ok to sleep with my brother and me, using me for sex and her own amusement."

Sighing softly, Addie pressed a soft kiss to his neck, "I get it. That wasn't funny. I truly apologize, Damon. Katherine and my sister, what they did to you wasn't right. I would never mean to hurt you."

"I trust you," he said weakly, taking in a large gulp of air, "I know you wouldn't."

Her arm tightened around him and kissed him again, "That's mighty brave of you."

"It is," he admitted. "Promise me you won't make me regret it?"

"I'll do my best," whispered Addie. "Really, Damon, why the dog?" Addie laughed, petting the soft, squishy animal in his lap.

The vampire scowled, flicking at the ears, "Wolf, Addie."

Addie scoffed and shook her head, "Why does it have to be a wolf? I like dogs better."

"It's a wolf," he mumbled, picking up the stuffed animal and turning it to face them, "so that it can protect you from me." He took the animal and brushed its nose against Addie's.

She pushed the toy slowly back into his lap and pulled far enough away from Her to look at him. "That's werewolves and they're only useful one night a month," she said slowly. "Besides, why do I need werewolf level protection from you?" she demanded.

Damon rolled his eyes, ignoring her question, "This is a special wolf; a witch cast a spell on a regular wolf so that it has all the venomous powers of a werewolf. Your new best friend is a total badass against vampires; he's useful 24/7."

"You ignored my question," huffed Addie. "And you're ignoring the fact that he's filled with stuffing and cuddly."

"So he'll keep you company on nights I can't," he deflected.

Crossing her arms, she glared at him, "You're not being cute or funny, Damon."

"That's because you're not using your imagination," he grinned, tapping her forehead. He groaned at her pursed lips. "What, Addie? What do you want from me?"

"How about an answer for why I need a stuffed magical wolf?" she snapped.

He went to pull at a curl but she waved his hand away as if it was a pestering fly. Damon frowned, "I'm going to hurt you."

Addie scooted away from him, "What?"

"Not on purpose," he tacked on quickly, "but sooner or later it's going to happen. We both know it. I already did on accident."

"I know," she whispered, not meeting his eye and playing with the hem of his plain white shirt.

"When I do, Loki," he sighed passing her the wolf, "will be there for you. For a cuddle, to catch your tears, or you can sic him on me, if you really want."

Addie stroked at the soft, shaggy black and white fur frowning, "Well, thank for winning me, uh, _Loki_ but I don't think he's going to make everything all better when you hurt me."

Damon nodded in agreement, "You're completely right but hopefully he will help."

"Thanks," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

He placed a finger under her chin and gently lifted it until she looked him in the eye, "I apologize for any and every stupid thing that I may ever do to hurt you.

"Don't think this blanket apology and stuffed animal lets you off for absolutely anything," she warned.

He held up his hands defensively, "I completely expect you to tear me a new one whenever I _actually_ deserve it. Not when you just want to bitch, though,,,,"

She nodded, "Agreed. Can we move on from the depressing part of this date? You promised fun but so far we've argued and you've admitted that you're eventually going to hurt me."

"Obviously I'm going to do my best not to hurt you but, well, let's face it, it's me. But yes," he grinned broadly, standing and taking her hand, "let's get back to having fun. What would you like to do next? More games? Food? Rides?"

Grinning wickedly, Addie asked, "How's your tolerance for rides?"

* * *

'

The wood splintered into the palms of Damon's hands as he rested his weight against them. His eyes were squeezed closed as he felt like the only solid thing beneath him was the pier railing. Bile burned at the back of his throat. Everything was spinning and spinning and ugh! Bending one knee and stretching the other out behind him, he folded his arms and rested his forehead on them. He needed to feed; low blood sugar, low blood pressure, low blood something was keeping the world in perpetual motion.

"You ok?" Addie asked from…. somewhere around him.

"Yeah," he choked out. "I just… No," he admitted, "no, I feel like shit." Damon tried to lift his head but it made everything feel much more shaky. "We just rode every ride with any form of spinning or twisting, riding the last one three times nonstop. How are you not puking your gut?" he muttered.

Addie shrugged, even though he wasn't looking at her, "Simple: I'm not an old fart."

"I am not-," started Damon indignantly, making to stand up. He stopped, gripping at the rail, wood cracking under his strength. "It's not fair to play the age card when a man is down," he mumbled.

"Hey," whispered Addie, coming close to him and cupping his cheek, "Damon, you really don't look good."

He scowled, his eyes still screwed shut, "That's because the world doesn't usually start spinning this bad until five fifths of something good and by that point, whoever I'm drinking with is already convinced I'm the sexiest thing on Earth."

She brushed a stray lock of hair out of his face, frowning, "That's so bad I don't know if you're being humorous or serious; it makes me more worried. If you held on to my arm would you break it and would you be able to walk?"

"I'm not an invalid," he snapped.

"No," said Addie gently, rubbing her thumb over his scratchy cheek, "but you're about to break through the railing, which might cause a scene. There's a bench right by."

Creaks and cracks could be heard as Damon eased his grip. "I don't need to sit," he muttered.

"You need _something_, Damon. You look ill; vampires don't get ill. Tell me what you need and I'll get it," she reassured him, carefully balancing the stuffed wolf he won her on the railing so she could cup both cheek.

He shook his head slowly, "You can't get me what I need, Addie. We just have to stop for awhile."

"What's wrong?" Addie insisted.

Keeping his eyes closed and judging by sound and scent, Damon released the broken wood and shuffled to stand in front of Addie, not trusting his feet to find solid ground if he picked them up. His hands instinctively found her hips and held them tight for stability and balance. With her under his fingers, he felt the world slightly align but not enough. He had to tell her. "It was the rides," he mumbled. He let out a soft moan of relief when Addie guided his forehead to rest against hers.

Addie pushed on, "What did the rides do, Damon?"

"My blood, they messed with it somehow. It needs to balance back out." Still not fond of the idea of opening his eyes, he squeezed her hips and forced a smile, "We'll just take a little time out, ok?"

Black, spidery veins fanned out Damon's eyes, which began to fade as soon as Addie started tracing over them. She whispered in understanding now, "You need blood."

He shook his head against hers, "Just time, Ads."

"But blood would heal you quicker," she pointed out.

"Doesn't matter," he mumbled, "it's not an option."

Addie bit her lip, hesitating for a moment. "Yes, yes it is. My blood, Damon."

"I can't, Ads. I'm not… I can't," he sighed, dropping his face into the crook of her neck.

She hushed him, stroking the back of his head, "Shh…. Yes, you can. I'm asking you to. I trust you to stop. I don't like seeing you like this. It scares me, Damon."

"You're sweet," he said dryly. "You're misunderstanding, though. I literally can't drink your blood," sighed Damon, a trace of sadness in his voice.

"Why not?" she asked in confusion. Leaning harder against the rail, Addie pulled at Damon, encouraging him to rest more of his weight on her. A groan escaped him as he did.

He shrugged, "I don't know, Ads. I tried that night in the shower. When I swallowed your blood my throat started to close, like an allergic reaction."

This only baffled her further. "Why? What's wrong with me? Does it mean I'm sick or something?" she pressed, feeling slightly panicked.

"No, my little Ads, no," murmured Damon reassuringly. "Your blood _tasted_ perfectly healthy; really healthy, actually. Your blood is the sweetest I have ever smelled or tasted. The healthier someone is the sweeter their blood. Nothing to worry about, Ads," he mumbled, ghosting his lips along her neck. "I think it's tied to why you can be trained to resist compulsion. Your blood isn't just unusually sweet to me, it is to Stefan, too. I'm guessing he would have the same _allergic_ reaction. It's like you were born with vampire protection but the compulsion resistance has to be activated." He sighed and muttered, "I don't know. I'm just guessing. I've tried to research but I haven't come up with anything."

Addie nodded, one hand playing at the ends of his hair and the other running up and down his back. "Ok, ok. Don't worry about it. The important question: how are you feeling?"

"Mmm… still like a limp vampire," he hummed into her neck, smirking at the shiver that went through her.

"Well, your sense of perverted humor is coming back. I'm going to take that as a positive sign," she grinned.

Searching for stability, Damon dug his boot heels into pier and gripped her hips again. Pressing his forehead where her shoulder and neck met, he hesitantly peeked out of an eye, feeling like he had finally gotten off of the Tilt-a-Whirl. The dusky peach sky had given way to twilight that, thankfully, didn't scorch his eye; encouraging him to open the other. Dropping a soft kiss just below her collarbone, Damon snickered, "I foresee a pretty positive outlook from my position."

Pushing at his chest, she snapped, "Are you looking down my dress?"

"Oh, relax, Ads. The top of your dress is flush against the top of your breast. I just have the spectacular view of the vast area of bare skin above them and watching them rise and fall as you breath. You've been far more exposed to me in a bikini top," Damon smirked, tracing out her name over the skin he spoke of.

Addie slapped his hand just hard enough for him to get the message, "We are in _public_, Damon."

Rolling his light blue eyes, he moved his forehead to hers, "It was hardly scandalous, Addison."

"I'm sure my definition varies greatly from yours," she quipped. "However, it is very apparent that you are getting your strength back."

"What can I say? You inspired a miraculous recovery," he smirked, twirling a curl around his finger.

"I must simply be amazing," she grinned, trailing a finger along his jaw, up the center of his chin and over his lips.

He smiled back, pecking the pad of her finger. "You are so far beyond amazing."

Running both hands down his cheeks, the corners of her lips twitched up at the feeling of his three day old scruff. "So, how are you feeling, Damon?"

"Oh, I'm at _at least _half-mast," he beamed, enjoying watching Addie turn into a cherry tomato. "I'd say a few more strokes and I am good to go," winked Damon.

"You are an awful, horrible, terrible person," Addie muttered into the hands covering her face.

"But….," Damon drew out, pulling her hands from her face so he could kiss her cheek, "you tolerate me because you know I would go absolutely insane without you."

She shook her head, "I only tolerate you because you're kind of cute when you let me see the real you, no jokes, no pretenses, no guards, just Damon."

He gave her a small smile, "I don't bring that guy out too often."

"Not nearly often enough," she chastised.

"He's shy," Damon shrugged innocently.

Addie frowned, "That's too bad because, ya know, he's the only one of your twenty personalities that I like."

"Hsrdy-har-har. I don't think I've mentioned how hilarious you are," he smiled sweetly. "Alright," he said, giving her a true smile, "I'm pretty sure I can handle all the fun and exhilaration that comes with the Ferris wheel."

She raised her eyebrows at him skeptically, "Are you sure? It's not going to disappoint me if we don't go on it. We already rode all the rides I really love and I kinda broke you, which I'm really sorry about, by the way."

Damon snorted, "You didn't break me. I just….. They put blood in a centrifuge and spin it really fast to separate red blood cells and white blood cells. I'm not meant to be put in centrifuges repeatedly for sustained periods of time."

Addie's lips twitched furiously as she bit at them, "You, uh, you sure that's the story you want to go with? Carnival rides are hazardous to the health of vampires over prolonged exposure?"

"Yeah, yeah, sounds um, sounds scientific enough when I say it. Oh, and my little spinning spell? That never leaves this date, understood?" he replied jittery.

"That goes without saying, Damon," she reassured him, cupping his cheek. 'I know you wouldn't want anyone to know about that and I would never do that to you."

He pressed a long, hard kiss to her cheek. Squeezing his hand, Addie gave him a small smile and a wink. Damon picked up the black and white stuffed animal balanced carefully on the railing next to Addie. He led them to the giant wheel lighting up the sky.

"You don't know just how special and wonderful you are, Ads," Damon grinned at her as the got in line.

Blushing, Addie shoved her hands into the pockets of her dress nervously, "So you keep telling me."

Damon laughed, "I promise I'm working on figuring out ways of actually showing you and making you believe it."

She nodded, looking up at the Ferris wheel, "Looking forward to it."

"Why? Because I'm probably going to make a complete fool of myself?" he grinned, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Very much so," she said flatly.

"I repeat," he slowly stated, "you are so mean to me."

Addie shrugged, holding up her hands, "I'm not doing anything! I'm just going to sit back and watch you do you. If you fall flat on your ass it's not going to be my fault."

"You expect me to make an idiot of myself, don't you?" fished Damon as they moved forward.

"Nope," she said, popping the p, "because then I'm going to have an idiotic vampire vying for my affection. I'm hoping you don't look like an idiot so I don't look like an idiot if we end up together."

He frowned, "Do you have to have an answer for everything?"

"You want the truth, Damon?" whispered Addie conspiratorially. Not waiting for his response she continued, "I actually _don't_ have a response 70% of the time and am actually pulling a stream of words that I hope make sense out of my ass."

Damon chuckled lightly, framing her curls around her face, "I don't know if I am more intimidated knowing you have such great, put together remarks on a whim or comforted by the fact that most of what you're saying you're pulling out of your ass."

"I would be comforted," Addie laughed. "It means my argument usually isn't as thought out as it sounds. If you poke hard enough, I crack pretty easy."

He shook his head, "You're stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"Maybe," she consented, "but I figure your ego is big enough for the both of us. I mean, one of us has to assume the other side is stronger and that's not going to be you."

As their turn came to get on the ride, Addie bit at her lip nervously. In the small metal seat, Damon wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him. Her heart felt like it decided to pursue a high speed chase when the machine jolted, tugging them backwards and lifting Addie's feet from the ground. The bar holding them in was trapped in Addie's death grip as the Ferris wheel stopped, leaving her feet dangling three feet above the ground.

"Ads, you're shaking like a leaf. Are you ok?" asked Damon cautiously.

"I don't like Ferris wheels," she choked out through gritted teeth.

He frowned at her, responding quickly, "What? Why didn't you tell me?!"

She shrugged, jumping as the giant wheel began to move again, "You wanted to ride the ferris wheel. Figured I owed you after the centrifuges."

Damon shook his head, pushing his fingers through her hair and tilting her to face him, "I just thought you would want to ride it, given how much you liked all the others. I didn't care one way or the other and even if I did, you should never feel like you _owe_ me anything, Addie. Never, ever. No matter what the situation. If I do anything with you or for you it's because I _want _to do it. I want it to be the exact same with how you treat me. You're never in debt to me, have to treat me quid pro quo, should feel like you owe me anything, I'm so sorry you fe-"

Addie pressed a finger to his lips, "Sometimes, you talk too much. I _wanted_ to ride the ferris wheel because I thought you wanted to. I didn't feel like I _had to_, Damon. I'm not going to do anything I don't want to do."

"Good," he murmured against her finger. Gently grabbing her hand, he placed it on the soft stuffed animal on her lap. "So, tell me, how can you enjoy rides that fling you every which way but you don't like Ferris wheels?"

She blushed. "I'm afraid of heights. Well, stationary heights to be specific. I don't have a problem with roller coasters or airplanes. High rise building are ok unless I'm forced onto the roof or the balcony," she rambled. "You can understand Ferris wheels then, yeah? I mean, strapped in this little metal seat by just a metal rod with my feet dangling 100 feet above the ground."

"Addie," said Damon firmly, taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger and making her darting eyes meet his gaze, "you're going to work yourself into a panic. You have to calm down, ok?" She nodded mutely. He still felt her trembling from the arm wrapped around her and steady hand on her shoulder. "Hey!" he snapped when her eyes began to drift from his as the machine began to move again. "Focus on me, Ads, just me, alright?" he insisted.

She nodded again, lifting a trembling hand and placing it on his cheek, "Yeah, ok. You. Um, what am I supposed to be focusing on about you?"

He licked his lips nervously, "I didn't think that far ahead; I was more focused on getting your attention."

"Your helpfulness is fading," she squeaked as they came to a jerking halt, the small, metal cart swinging back and forth.

"Do you trust me?" he asked softly.

Addie scoffed, "Not as far as I can throw you."

He paused, taken aback. "Well, thank you for your honesty," he sighed, forcing a smile.

"Do you not remember why you insist the stuffed dog is a wolf," she whispered apologetically, pulling his face closer.

"I didn't say I blame you or that I deserve your trust," he muttered understandingly. twisting a strand of curled hair tighter.

She brushed her thumb over the stubble on his cheek, "I trust you with certain things though. It's like 80% deal. You once agreed with me that I would be stupid to ever trust you 100%."

"I still stand by that," agreed Damon. "I understand you saying no, Ads. I was just trying to distract you."

A strangled whimper escaped Addie as the machine lurched in motion again. He cradled her face in his hand, stopping her from looking down. "How would you have distracted me? What's going on right now? Not really working," Addie squeaked.

"I - well, it doesn't seem like such a smart plan in hindsight," he laughed awkwardly.

"Please, Damon," she begged, feeling the machine stop, leaving their seat rocking in the sky.

He sighed, frowning,"It's not exactly the romantic moment I planned but would it be ok if I kissed you, Ads?"

She nodded slowly, Damon smiled slightly, bowing his head towards her. It felt like the lightest of shocks as he let his lips ghost by hers. He made to pull back but Addie's hand on his face encouraged him closer. She pressed her lips to his insistently. Moving his against hers, he slipped his hand from her cheek and into her hair, letting his fingers get lost in the ringlets of curls.

Damon grinned, leaning his forehead against hers, "I've been wanting to do that for awhile."

She jumped, grabbing at his jacket collar, feeling the Ferris wheel jerk. "That's not what you've been waiting for. I know you, Salvatore," mumbled Addie, desperate for a distraction.

"You're right," he confessed, "that's not exactly what I've really been wanting."

"Are you waiting for a handwritten invitation or something?" she smirked.

He growled softly in annoyance, quickly cradling her face in both hands he roughly kissed her, parting her lips with his. Taking her lip between his teeth he bit and tugged at it until Addie let out a soft whimper and clutched at his shirt. Damon smirked into the kiss; he had missed this, missed her. She still tasted of cinnamon and vanilla; perfection, just like he remembered. He let go of her lip, soothing where his teeth had been with soft caresses of his tongue. Addie pushed harder into the kiss, trying to gain some control. She finally managed to capture his bottom lip and nipped at it sharply while lightly raking her nails over the back of his scalp.

Breaking the kiss, Damon groaned, "God, I've missed you." He reached back, grabbed her hand, and placed it in the safer territory of his chest. "As much as I enjoy it, now is _not_ the time for teasing," he instructed, kissing her again.

"Of course you would forbid the fun part," she mumbled out between soft kisses and playful bites.

"Just for now," he murmured, unspoken promises underlying his words. Damon pulled away, untangling his finger from her hair and and rearranging the the curls. Thankfully he hadn't disheveled her hair that much. "It's ok to look down now," he encouraged.

Tentatively, Addie did as Damon said, and a grin spread across her face. She doubled checked over her shoulder just to make sure she was right. "We get off next," she said in wonder.

Addie sighed in relief as the soles of her Converse scraped across the planks of the pier. When the wheel stopped and the ride attendant stopped unlatched the safety bar, she grabbed the stuffed wolf, shot up and out of the small metal seat, grateful to be off the nightmare of a ride. Damon quickly caught up as she had already taken several strolls towards the exit.

"Hey," he laughed, catching her hand, "it wasn't that bad. You survived didn't you?"

"Only marginally," uttered Addie, trying to put as much distance between herself and the ride.

Damon tugged her in a different direction than where she was dragging him, "Hold on, don't you want to see our picture from at the top?"

She halted in her steps, "What? I thought they only did that on roller coasters to catch people looking terrified. I smile for those! I don't need to see myself terrified on top of the tamest ride there is."

"I think you were fairly distracted by the time we reached the top," snickered Damon, pulling at her arm until he got her to reluctantly follow him.

Addie felt her cheeks burn hot, "All the more reason to not see it."

"I completely disagree," he stated, looked at three tv screens that cycled through pictures of of people. Some knew they were being photographed and were posing and had plastered on smiles or goofy faces, the others were candid shots of people absorb in their own little worlds, be it conversations or looking out over the lights of the pier or out to the side and watching the ocean. "There," he exclaimed, pointing to the middle television, "number 256."

She nodded, not looking up, "I will take your word for it."

"Such a sour puss," he jibed, nudging her in the ribs with her elbow. "Hey, can I get two printouts of number 256?" called Damon to the worker.

The girl was overly bubbly, "Of course you can! What size would you like them?"

He shrugged, "I guess two four by six."

"Wonderful! I will have those out for you in a jiffy," she said brightly, clicking at a computer screen.

Damon turned to Addie as he waited for the pictures. He pushed a curling strand of hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear. "What do you want to do next? Are you ready to go or do you want to hang out a little longer?" he asked hesitantly, noticing her attitude had changed.

She considered this, crossing her arms. One the one hand she wanted to hangout with Damon a little longer but on the other a cool breeze was coming off from the ocean and she was starting to get a little cold. Addie shrugged, "It's up to you."

"Here you go, sir," grinned the sales girl as she handed Damon the pictures while he passed her the money.

Placing a hand on the small of her back, he guided Addie away from the picture displays and under a lamppost. Noticing her rubbing slightly at her upper arms, he slipped off his leather jacket and held it open for her. She smiled up at him, slipped one arm in, and passed the stuff whole to that hand so she could slip the other arm in place. "Thank you," she sighed as the weight of the jacket settled comfortingly around her shoulders.

Damon held out on of the pictures of them on the Ferris wheel to her, which she took with a frown and slipped into the pocket of his coat. "Thanks," she mumbled.

"You're not going to at least look at it," Damon laughed.

Addie shook her head, blushing, "Nope, I'm good. I was there."

"True," he acknowledged, studying his own copy, "but you didn't see if from a third point of view. We look pretty good together." Damon wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held the picture in front of her, "Come on. Just a quick look."

"Fine, " she huffed, looking at the picture. Addie felt more color fill her cheeks as she looked at them kissing. It was the soft sweet kiss he had given her first. He was right; they didn't look bad together. Her bright red dress stood out against his black jeans and black jacket. Where there skin was close, their hands on each other's cheek, his hand on her shoulder from the arm he had wrapped around her, and of course where their faces met, all contrasted beautifully with her sun-kissed skin pressed against his ivory tone. "It's not that bad," she conceded. "Though, why you need a picture of us kissing I don't understand," muttered Addie scornfully, pushing his hand out of her face.

Damon shrugged and frowned in thought, "Easier question is why not?"

"Anyone could find it; see it," she mumbled.

"I don't care if anyone sees it, Addie, but, apparently, you do," he accused, crossing his arms in front of him.

Knowing what he was thinking, she rolled her eyes; he had the nerve to accuse _her_ of self-esteem issues. Placing her hand on his bare arms, she tried to get him undo them. Addie sighed in annoyance when he wouldn't budge, "Come on, Damon. Don't be like this. It doesn't matter _who _I'm kissing; it's simply that I'm kissing someone. I don't like the idea of being caught doing that with anyone by anyone. I'm just not comfortable with it."

"Alright," grumbled Damon, slipping the picture into his back pocket, "if that's what you say it is, I'm going to believe you."

"And you should," she insisted, "as I've given you no reason not to believe me. I mean, my friends and family know I'm out with you and it's not exactly like they're happy about it. Well, except Jenna, she doesn't know as she could actually do something to stop me from seeing you. I'm not trying to keep you my dirty little secret, Damon."

He nodded, pulling at a curling and watching it spring back, "You're right. You're right. You almost always are."

She smirked and tried to lighten the mood, "Well, I am a straight A student."

"That doesn't have to do with you being right," snickered Damon, "that's just because you're a nerd." Wrapping his arms around her shoulder, he pulled her to him, "So, what do you want to do? Are you warmer?"

Addie nodded, "Much warmer. We can stay longer if you want or you could get me back home _before_ my curfew."

"Can't have that," he muttered, shaking his head, "that's something a polite, nice guy would do. People would start to talk. I was thinking maybe a walk on the beach?"

Dropping her arms from around his waist and taking a few steps backwards, she held out her hand to him. A mischievous look sparkled in her deep blue eyes as she held out her hand to Damon, " That sounds like an excellent idea."

Intrigued, he took her small hand in his larger one. "What are you up to?" asked Damon suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

"Why would you possibly think I'm up to something?" she inquired, smiling at him innocently as she led him towards the stairs that led from the pier to the shore.

He squeezed her hand as they landed on the sand, his brows knitted together in thought, "Should I start with that look in your eyes, your fake innocent smile, or the biggest tell, that fact that you called one of my plans excellent?"

"Oh, well, it's so easy to tell that you're wrong because you think I agree with a _plan_ you had. No, I agreed with an _idea_, Damon. They're very different; a plan has steps and your plans range from bad to downright suicidal. When I say one of your plans is excellent, you should permanently commit to the mental hospital," she emphasized.

Damon frowned, "My plans have not been _that_ bad and definitely not near suicidal. I'm far too in love with myself for that."

"Shall we revisit them in chronological order, order of stupidity, or ranking of my favorites?" Addie proposed.

"Very funny," sneered Damon. He reflected for a moment and found he was actually interested in something, "Actually, your top three favorite would be nice."

She thought over the past six months with Damon. So many memories; it felt like a much longer time. "Number three would have to be when when you were able to manipulate me into helping you get the crystal from Bonnie so you could free Katherine from the tomb. I hated you and the idea of releasing another vampire... God, I just wanted you to stop killing people so badly that I let myself believe when you said Katherine didn't like to draw attention to herself."

"I may have exaggerated about that just a little," he muttered awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um, no. That was a flat out lie, Damon. But it got me to work with someone I loathed, so kudos, Of course, it did backfire and I only hated you more when you decided to rip Bonnie's throat out when Emily destroyed it. Though, admittedly, I don't _really_ believe that was part of your plan," she mused, "but more of anger management problem."

Damon huffed, "I suppose I overreacted. Honestly, thought, put back in the exact same situation with the same circumstances, I would still have the same reaction."

"Well, yeah," Addie shrugged, "I don't exactly believe you've changed much."

"I wouldn't have lied about Katherine," he admitted.

"Only because you know how much of a bitch she is," she muttered.

Damon shook his head, pursing his lips, "Nope, that's not why. Even if I still believed her to be who I thought and didn't know you like I do now, I wouldn't have done it. Not sure why I but I just know I wouldn't."

"That's most intriguing," she admitted. "Number two would be your epic plan of releasing Katherine and 26 other vampires on this town. I mean if there was a way to mess up a step, it happened. Unable to get the crystal and it gets destroyed, move on to plan B. Go to a witch in Georgia, find out you need a journal, and get betrayed and almost killed because you're a dick. The journal with the location of the grimoire is stolen, just wait until Stefan finds the location and digs up your father to steal it. You get my point. Personally, I would have taken it as a sign from the universe to stop whatever the fuck I was doing but not you. Have to give you credit for patience and persistence, oh, and being just a bit obsessive."

"Simple things to be for a fool in love," he mumbled, shoving his free hand into his pocket and watching his feet.

"And one of the very many reasons I don't bother believing in it. Talk about complicating life," heaved Addie, rolling her eyes. "Number one is probably you're only good plan, even if I don't agree with all the steps."

"What is it?" he pushed, truly interested.

"Weaseling your way into the Council," she shrugged simply.

Damon nodded in agreement, "That was one of my better choices. It's rather tedious and boring to maintain, however."

Addie snorted, "I figured you'd say something like that. But I'm sure you're very smug knowing you have everybody fooled and wrapped around your finger."

"You are not wrong," smirked Damon.

They walked along the shoreline in companionable silence for many minutes before Addie hesitantly spoke, "Speaking of plans, I never told you what Elena and I learned from Katherine on Monday."

He squeezed her hand gently, "I heard the gist through the grapevine: your sister, Tyler Lockwood, a vampire, and the moonstone. Nobody's mentioned it but unless Klaus plans on bring his own witch to the party, Bonnie Bennett is on that list, too."

Spying a dried, washed up log, Addie dragged Damon to it. She sat, angling herself towards him. The hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach came back, like it did every time she thought about this. "I don't know what to do, Damon. Klaus is ruthless, relentless. He's going to come after Elena."

He felt a tightening in his chest at the hopelessness in her voice. Damon ran his fingers through her hair, the curls catching at them. "She's going to be ok," he insisted. "I haven't told you what _I_ learned while you were being tortured with horror stories by Katherine. Rose and I went to meet her connection to Elijah, Slater, who is apparently like some super genius with way too much time on his hands. He said we could unspell the moonstone. No moonstone, no sacrifice."

Addie shook her head, "It's never that easy, Damon. First off, you locked the moonstone in an inescapable tomb with an evil, psychotic, bitch who isn't just going to toss it to us."

He waved his hand dismissively, "Minor technicalities. I'm working on a plan, Ads. I promise it will be ok."

"What did I say about your plans? This one ranks on the suicidal level. Did you hear what Klaus did to Katherine's family when she turned into a vampire to escape him? He slaughtered her entire family," she whispered anxiously. "He would kill you, Damon."

"Elena would be safe," shrugged Damon, indifferently.

Sighing, Addie dropped the stuffed animal next to her and raked her fingers through her hair, "He'd probably still kill her for not cooperating. Jenna and Jeremy and me, too, just to make a point. Who knows who else."

"Stefan and I wouldn't let him get to your family," he persisted, cupping her cheek.

"You're forgetting that you're dead from unspelling the moonstone," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

Damon frowned, remembering the way the tempered windows shattered at at the coffee shop/ Klaus was closer than she knew. "i promise we will figure something out, Ads. It's going to be ok," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I don't know," she mumbled distractedly.

"'Hey," he murmured, angling his lips over hers, "don't stress over it. Everyone will be ok."

His breath was warm against her lips, pulling her back into the focus of the here and now. His words didn't do anything to comfort her; they were nothing but meaningless platitudes meant to make her feel better. Nothing he could say would do that, though. The best thing he could do would be to distract her. Addie tilted her head closer in towards him, closing the small space between their lips. She felt herself relax slightly as he let go of her hand and placed his on the back of her head, pulling her in deeper to the kiss.

Tentatively, Damon prodded at her lips with the tip of his tongue, encouraging her to part them. He couldn't resist a soft sigh of relief as she did, one hand stroking his cheek, the other gripping at his shoulder. Her lips felt softer than the petal of rose under his. He couldn't help but notice how her mouth was sweeter than honey. To Addie, every time they parted, even for the briefest of moments, it felt like the burning sting of a bee that could only be eased by his cool lips. Her heart raced as if she was about to suffocate, never having quite enough air but feeling like she need Damon more.

"Ads," he drew out roughly, tilting his head as she peppered soft, hot kisses along his jaw. His fingers tightened in her hair as she nibbled at his earlobe.

"Mmm," she hummed, making him shiver. She smirked, working her way down his neck. His breathing was shallow and strained. Addie thought she could get use to having Damon shaken.

"Up," he ordered, pulling at her elbow, "stand up."

She shook her head, nibbling where his pulse pounded against her lips.

Growling, he slipped his arms around her waist and lifted her with ease, setting her on her feet.

"Hey," she snapped, smacking him lightly on the chest.

Damon raised a cocky, challenging eyebrow at her, "What?"

Addie scowled at him, "It's not fair to use vampire advantages."

"Who said anything about playing fair?" he scoffed "Besides, I didn't use any _vampire advantages_. You're fairly light, my Ads."

"You're a jerk," she muttered.

Damon pulled her flush against his chest. Dropping his head, the scruff of his cheek brushed against her cheek. His voice was low and husky, "I'm a jerk for wanting to hold you closer?"

She slid her hands up and around his broad shoulders, the cotton of his shirt soft under her fingers. Addie shook her head and smirked at him, "You're just a jerk in general."

He rolled his eyes, "I already knew that." One hand traveled up her back, under his jacket as he grinned down at her, "Was there a certain reason you didn't want to stand up?"

Addie encouraged him to bow his neck with one hand while the other slipped into the back of his silky black hair She smirked at him, "I was in the middle of an experiment."

"Experiment?" he repeated in amusement.

She nodded, pressing her lips in the hollow of his throat. Pulling at his shirt, she continued along his collarbone.

"Oh, I get it," sighed Damon, moving a hand to the back of her hand, "you're trying to find my weak spots."

"You caught me," she murmured against t neck, brushing her lips up it.

Damon smirked, "You're never going to find them like that."

She huffed, pulling back, "Want to give me a hint in that case?"

"Oh, my innocent Ads," he grinned darkly, brushing the tip of his nose against hers, "you're going to have to try a lot _harder _than that. I'm use to playing much rougher."

"Mmm, I did notice that the other night," muttered Addie, scraping her teeth along long his throat.

He fought to keep his breathing normal and his voice even as she reached just below his ear. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Addie smiled as Damon pushed firmly between her shoulder blades, pulling her closer to him. "I would have stopped you, if you were," she reassured him. Using the thumb around the back of his neck, she encouraged him to tilt his head down further and slightly away from her.

His initial hiss of shock quickly gave way to long, low deep groan as he felt his body com alive as she suddenly bit him sharply just behind behind where his ear and jaw connected. Her mouth felt so hot against his cool skin. It wasn't as sharp as he liked, he could still feel her hesitation as her heart beat against his chest, but the searing heat. He certainly couldn't find that - A ragged growl ripped through him, cutting through his thoughts as she scratched her nails through his hair and pulled at his belt look, tugging his hips into her lower abdomen. The movement caused the tough fabric of his jeans to brush uncomfortably over his slowly stiffening erection. Damon tried to pull his hips away inconspicuously, which was kind of difficult with how tight she was holding on to him. She may not have noticed his problem right then but if she kept attacking his neck, there would be no hiding it.

Reluctantly, Damon pulled his head away, breaking Addie's contact with him. His hand splayed out along the column of of her neck, pressing his thumb at the smooth skin on her leaned forward and kissed her again and Addie kissed him back with more fervor than she ever had before. They stood there kissing and kissing with the crashing of the waves and the stars and the moon all around them. She couldn't help but think the whole moment felt like the nicest thing in the world; her hands running slowly up into his sleek hair and down over his thick shoulders and along his strong arms and around to his brawny back, holding his strong body against hers.

Damon sighed in frustration as a hand slipped into his back pocket, again bringing him in contact with her lower stomach. There was no way she didn't feel that. "We really should start walking back," he murmured between small kisses.

"How about not?" whispered Addie, capturing his bottom lip between hers. He moaned softly as she nipped at it. Her hands snaked up his back, under his shirt, softly scratching with her nails. He groaned and let his hand grip at her waist, the soft cloth balled in his hand as he pressed into. "I don't think you want to," she smirked, running a finger down the center of his chest.

'You have no idea how right you are," Damon laughed back. He shook his head, his smile slipping, "Which is very, very wrong of me. "

She frowned, looping a finger in his belt loop and pulling him into her again, "What's _so_ wrong about it, Damon? You can kiss me but you can't enjoy it?"

"Something like that," he muttered, brushing the hair away from his neck. Gently, his lips grazed over the skin there, as his stubble rubbed against the sensitive area she squirmed against him. He scowled, dropping his forehead to her shoulder; that definitely wasn't his intention.

Addie shook her head, pushing his off hers. She wasn't going to let him do this; he didn't get to be all mysterious and secretive about them. "Then what exactly is it like?" she insisted softly, pressing a tender kiss to his lips to try and hide her annoyance.

"You're too young, Addie. There's more to people disapproving than me just being me, There's a reason Jenna doesn't know," pointed out Damon, brushing his thumb over her swollen red lips.

She rolled her eyes, "Everyone's younger than you. Besides, it's not like Stefan's bothered with the age difference between him and Elena."

"You _know_ that's not what I mean," he frowned at her. "Plus, you can't compare yourself to Elena, either. You're much more… Elena wouldn't be embarrassed at a simple picture of her kissing someone. You just have this... innocence," he said with a lopsided smiled. "I don't want to - I can't - I never said I didn't enjoy it; I think it's pretty obvious that I do," he finally settled on defensively.

"You just can't enjoy it too much," replied Addie with pursed lips.

He shrugged, "You're right. I _don't_ want to think of you in a particularly romantic matter. You're still so young and innocent."

"You've mentioned both of those twice now," she smiled up at him sarcastically.

"Yes, well, that's because I don't want to be responsible for you growing up too fast or corrupting you or something," scowled Damon, taking a step back.

Addie bent down and picked the stuff animal he had won her off of the log and start back towards the pier. "You're an idiot," she noted, as he fell into stride next to her. "My parents shoved me into therapy when I was nine for depression, which was later diagnosed as bipolar. Said parents then died, leaving my coed aunt to raise my siblings and me. I mean, we're basically raising ourselves. Then my whole worldview is altered when I come to find out vampires, werewolves, witches, and I can only guess at what else exist. I've only encountered a few evil vampires, been briefly kidnapped by someone working with my uncle, seen my brother lifeless, and dealt with my sister being in what feels like endless danger. I definitely don't feel like I'm being forced into growing up amidst all that. Lately, being with you is like a temporary escape; like I can take a moment to relax and remember I'm just a teenager and the whole world doesn't rest on my shoulders.

"As for _corrupting_ me, you might as well face the fact that you've already started to. I can find no other logical explanation for why i would have agreed to go out with you," she smirked.

Damon slipped his hand into hers, watching the way the moon shone on the lake; it reminded him of her eyes. "That's all the more reason for me to stay away from you," he bitterly laughed.

"You wouldn't," said Addie, a trace of uncertainty underlying her mellow tone.

"Again, you're right," he admitted. "My self-control isn't that good. I wouldn't have gone near you after that first night you came across me. Not that I've been attracted to you the entire time. Fascinated but not interested."

She blushed, "Just out of curiosity, when would you say you _did _become interested?"

"Damon had to take a few minutes to consider this; even though her knew it wasn't true, he felt like he had always been interested in Addie. "That night you had me come out to the cabin was the first time I acknowledged something, I suppose. You didn't invite me in right. You were the first person to call me out on sticking around after the tomb opened. You started questioning me about whether or not you were compelled. You were bordering on an emotional wreck that night but you still managed to be insanely brilliant and bold. Biggest hint was that we pretty much cuddled all night; I'm not a cuddly guy," he concluded with a frown of disgust.

Addie stopped walking for a second, cocking her head in confusion, "What are you talking about? You are extremely cuddly."

"Never say that again," hissed Damon, raising a stern finger in warning. "I only do that with you, I don't do that with other women. Nor do I share about my past."

Slipping an arm around his waist, Addie couldn't resist the urge to tease him, "Is that your way of saying I'm special?"

"You are more than special," he chuckled, wrapping his arm around her. "You've got me out on an actual date, _trying_ to impress you. I never have to try. And _if_ I bother with a date, it's always a joke with one end goal."

"I'm going to take that as a grand compliment, considering your track record," quipped Addie.

Damon smirked, leading her to the car, "It definitely is."

He unlocked the passenger door and held it open for her. She quickly kissed and thanked him before getting into the car. The silence was comfortable as they started back to Mystic Falls; there was no awkward tension like there had been coming up.

"Everything ok?" checked Damon.

Addie nodded, "Yeah, I was just up really late working on a song for the scholarship I was telling you about…. Hey, would you be up for putting the top down?"

"I am always up for putting the top down," he smirked. "Won't you be cold though?" he asking in concern. "The wind will be much stronger than it was on the beach."

"Your jacket is doing a pretty good job of keeping me warm," she shrugged. "Besides, I have to enjoy car rides and road trips vicariously through other people's cars and driving."

Damon eased his foot down on the brake as he pulled off on the side of the road. First, the windows were lowered just enough so that they didn't touch what formed the top of the door frame. He reached over, flipping down the passenger visor so he could unlatch the hood from the window from and then did the same thing to his own side. As he pressed down on the button to lower the top, the whirring and purring of the machine could be heard as it lifted the hood and folded it in on itself and into a storage space behind hind the backseat.

"You're not making sense again," noted Damon, rolling the windows back up so that they could still talk over the loud sound of the wind passing them by without having to shout.

Thoughtfully, Addie frowned and mused, "I think you just don't listen or follow rational thought patterns."

"I listen," he insisted, pulling back onto the open road, "but you don't fully explain yourself. It's like playing Madlibs, talking to you, except missing a verb or adjective, I'm missing full phrases."

"Geezes, quit flatter me, Damon," she ribbed good naturedly. "I just love riding in the car; I find it relaxing. I can't wait until I have my own car. Instead of running when I get upset or can't think, I'd just go out for a drive with my music blaring and singing along like an idiot until everything feels like it's right side-up again," explained Addie wistfully, gazing up at the star filled sky.

Damon shook his and tried to bite back a snort of of laughter.

She glowered at him, "What?"

"Nothing," he shrugged innocently, "It's just that I wouldn't trust you with a car. You'd go out for a drive one night and just decide to never turn back"

"No, I woul- Ok, I _might_ do that. I mean the music school in London isn't just appealing because it's something I love doing," admitted Addie.

He nodded, "I kind of figured. I'm sure there are all kinds of programs in the states, especially in New York City or LA. Though, I think you prefer the idea of an ocean separating you from Mystic Falls, rather than land."

"I definitely do," she agree, "even though trouble could just as easily jump on a plane and follow me. The idea of it catching up with me just feels more unlikely if I'm in another country. But I know the chances of me getting into that program are just about impossible, which is why I've either already applied to programs around the U.S. or I am working on projects to submit. I don't know what this summer is going to bring but taking music classes sounds a lot less dangerous than Mystic Falls."

"You do realize that vampires and werewolves aren't just restricted to there, right?" reminded Damon.

"I know, however, it seems I'm caught up with the wrong crowd here. I like to believe I could go somewhere new and start over," shrugged Addie with a small, sad smile.

He frowned; he didn't like to think of her leaving, starting over. It was just a reminder that he was going to lose her, eventually. He gave her a forced grin, "You can. I'm sure you'll have a normal life, one day. But for now, well…"

She gave him a mock scowl, "For now, it seems I'm stuck with you."

"Yes," Damon smirked, twirling a loose curl around his finger, "you have the honor of being stuck with me."

"You know, I have to question whether you or Katherine is the most egotistical person I have ever met," mused Addie, tapping at her thin in thought.

"I am not even nearly that bad," he proclaimed, a brief horror stricken look crossing his face.

Addie shook her hand until the sleeve of Damon's jacket fell around her wrist; it was really way too big for her. She patted at his shoulder condescendingly, "I don't think you've ever spent a whole day with yourself, if you truly believe that."

He was quick to retort, "You've spent a whole day with me, willingly, at that. That never would have happened if my ego was that intolerable. You would lose your mind if you had to spend an entire day with Katherine."

"There's a chance of deflating your ego; you're much more malleable than that cold, heartless bitch. My scathing remarks would be useless against her. I still have hope for you," she grinned at him.

"Oh, really?" Damon smirked and she nodded. After a minute, the grin fell from his face. His tone was gentle and steady but his excessively tight grip on the steering wheel betrayed his anxiety. "What about hope for an… 'us?'"

Running her fingers through her hair, Addie bit at her lip. She liked Damon, really, she did, but he had his fair share of faults. No matter how much she wanted to be with him, she couldn't just ignore them. "I don't know," she said. Thanks to his sensitive hearing, Damon was able to just barely catch it over the sound of the wind rushing around him.

"Give me one good reason why not. I like you and every sign you're sending suggests that you feel the same way. It's not that complicated," he insisted, reaching for her hand.

Addie avoided him using the need to retie her shoe as a pretext. "The fact that I simply don't know if I want to be in a relationship with you should be a good enough reason."

Damon sighed heavily, "It is a good enough reason; I don't want to push you into something you don't want to do. I just want to understand why you don't know."

"Well, for one, I wouldn't even know how to be in a relationship. I mean, what changes between how things are now and once we define something? Most couples I know make me nauseated with their sappiness and cuteness. I don't want to be like that. I wouldn't even know how to be like that. Secondly, I guess it's because I haven't accepted all your faults. I thought I had but…" Addie trailed off, shaking her head. '

"We would never be one of those nauseatingly sick couples. We'd be that really annoying couple that everyone bets on breaking up because we would bicker over the stupidest things and we would prove everyone wrong because we never really actually fight and get truly angry at each other," Damon countered.

The corners of her lips tugged upwards ever so slightly, "That's basically what I told Bonnie and Elena earlier today; we bitch at each other but we rarely fight, like where someone gets angry or upset for a long time."

"Exactly," he nodded, "I mean, we fought a few times today but it was mostly because I overreacted to stupid things but I think we still had a good time."

"I did," Addie smiled, "except when you got vampire sickness; I was kind of worried then."

"Mmm, that part wasn't fun. And I didn't get sick; all the spinning just somehow messed with my blood. It was weird; I've never heard of it happening before. I'm pretty much indestructible on the whole. You shouldn't have worried but I'm sorry that I made you," he said, tugging at a lock of hair; the curl had mostly fallen out between time, him playing with her hair and Addie running her hands through it,

She took his hand and interlaced their fingers, "You're ok now and that's what matters."

Damon's eyes kept drifting to her. She looked exquisite; the wind whipping through her hair, scattering strands in her face, classic red lips so soft in a gentle pout, wrapped up in _his_ favorite jacket. He so desperately wanted to ask what faults she couldn't look past but he was too afraid of her answer. What is they were simply things that made him _him_? Damon didn't think he could face that.

He saw her frown just a bit as he pulled to a stop in front of her house. "Thank you for today, Damon," she blushed lightly, squeezing his hand.

"Of course, Ads. I should be thanking you," he laughed, pulling away and opening his.

She looked at him in confusion, "What are you -"

"Doing?" he finished, her head snapping to where he had appeared on the passenger side, holding open the door for her. "I'm walking you to your door, obviously."

"Damn vampire tricks," she mumbled, taking his offered hand and letting him help her out. "You really don't have to," snickered Addie. "It's like forty feet away. I'm pretty sure I can make it."

He stole one her of her favorite moves to use on him and stuck his tongue out at her, "Smart ass. I know you can but it's the gentlemanly thing to do. So suck it up."

"Yeah because _that _was soooo gentlemanly and polite," she scoffed, letting him lead her up the driveway and to the porch.

"My words and actions have a problem with each other. There are very few things they agree upon," Damon nodded smartly as they came to a stop in front of the door. "They align with the idea that you look beautiful tonight There is something they do agree upon if it's ok with you."

Addie noticed how close he was to her; she had to tilt her head back just to make eye contact with him. She gave him an innocent, questioning look but felt the nervous energy of busy bees humming in the pit of her stomach, just like every time he invade her personal space. "What?"

"A "goodnight, thanks for a wonderful date" kiss," he shrugged simply. When she nodded, blushing the color of her dress, he gently pressed his lips to hers. The pressure increased as Damon tangled his fingers in the hair at the back of her head. As something soft and fuzzy brushed against the base of his neck, he froze for a moment before remembering the stuffed wolf that she held. With the small of her back under his hand, he couldn't resist pulling her to him as she whimpered softly when his bit at her lip. Sh kissed him back harder and he let his hand drift slightly further south than he knew he should before he steered it to her side, tracing the curve of her hip, the dip of her waist, coming up to stop were here dress fell off the shoulder, leaving the heel of his hand just barely brushing the side of her breast. He groaned; why was he torturing him?

The porch flight suddenly flicked off, making Addie jump, her nose bumping into Damon's. His eyes adjusting, Damon could see her turning scarlet under the moonlight.

"I am so sorry," she muttered, horrified.

Damon laughed and shook his head, "Do be. It's nothing." He pulled his phone from hi pocket and checked the time before returning it. "I think that was someone's polite way of telling me to leave," he snickered.

"The light bulb just went out," Addie insisted, in denial that they had been caught.

"You're right," he placated, slipping his hands onto her bare shoulders, sliding his jacket slowly down her arms, "the light went out at exactly midnight, right at your curfew. That is totally believable. With no signs of flickering or anything."

She scowled at him, freeing one arm then holding the large stuffed animal in the other to free the other, "You couldn't just let me believe in coincidence?"

Damon shook his head again, pulling the picture of them on the Ferris wheel out of his jacket pocket and passing it to her, "You know the rate of that in this town."

"Thanks," said Addie, blushing even harder when she took the picture from him. "So, um, I'll call you?"

He snorted, "No, you won't. You're afraid of the dial tone. Text me?"

"Yeah," she nodded, her back to the door, hand on the knob.

"Ok," he agree, gently brushing his lips against hers. "Goodnight, Addie."

"Goodnight, Damon," whispered Addie, quickly slipping inside.

Once inside Addie looked around the living room, even taking a few steps into it so she could peer into the kitchen. No lights were on; no sign of who had turned off the porch light. Perplexed, she headed up the stairs and unlocked her door. She tossed the stuffed animal on her bed and in the bottom corner of her dresser mirror, stuck the picture. As she was collecting things for a shower, rapid knocking came for the door leading to the bathroom. Opening the door, Elena practically fell into her room, Bonnie right behind her.

"Spill!"

"How was it?!"

"What exactly is it like to go on a date with Damon Salvatore?"

Bonnie dragged her by the arm and pushed her onto the bed, crawling on herself. Elena was soon to join them. Addie's eyes narrowed at their eager expressions.

"I don't recall inviting you two in for _girl talk_," she said slowly, untying her shoes and kicking them off. With careful aim she tossed them into her open closet.

"You wore Converse! What about the little black ballet flats we bought?" Elena cried, distraught over the crime of fashion.

Addie shrugged, "I decided I wanted to wear what I was comfortable in, which were the Converse. Damon didn't care; I don't see why you should."

Elena rolled her bright brown eyes, "He wouldn't have told you if he did!"

"I don't think he had a particular preference on my footwear," she frowned.

"Yeah, Elena, Addie's only going to put up with us for so long so I suggest we get as much information as possible and skip the debate over shoes. A better question is what is this?" Bonnie asked smugly, holding up the stuffed animal.

Addie tried to fight back the blush she felt rising to her cheeks, "Damon won him for me."

"Him?" her sister pressed with raised eyebrows.

Bonnie studied the stuffed wolf, "Won him? What did you guys do?"

"We went to North Shore Boardwalk, since I didn't get to go to the school carnival," answered Addie, plucking the thing from Bonnie and putting it near her headboard. "Damon won him at the basketball game and name him Loki. Don't ask me why; I don't know."

Bonnie frowned, "Whose idea was it to go to North Shore?"

"Isn't Damon a little on the short side for basketball?"

Addie sighed. Would it always be like this if she went out with Damon? Tedious, boring questions inspecting them. "It was Damon's idea. It was a good idea. We had fun. And, yes, he is, which was why I picked basketball, I wanted a game where he didn't have a vampire advantage. Apparently, he still does have some advantage though because he sunk five out five shots with no problem."

"I'm not saying anything against going to North Shore. I'm actually very confused. It was a sweet idea," the witch replied, her eyes narrowed as she tried to make sense of what she thought.

Addie rolled her eyes, "Of course it's a sweet idea. Damon ca - i wouldn't have gone out with him if he was a complete asshole, Bonnie. Give me some credit."

"Did you kiss him?" interrupted Elena.

She felt herself go scarlet as her best friend and sister stared at her, "I'm not answering that."

Elena nodded slowly, "You did, didn't you?"

"Maybe, maybe not," she shrugged, trying to seem casual. "It's not really any of your business. Actually, none of tonight is. Yeah, no, I'm not doing this. I'm not playing _Gossip Girl_.

* * *

**Tuesday, 7:28**

**Damon: Hey Ads! I had a really great time Saturday. I hope the rest of your weekend was good.**

**Thursday, 5:53**

**Damon: Hey! Elena mentioned you have been working on your music a lot. You should let me hear for some feedback before you submit anything for London College of Music ;)**

**Friday, 7:13**

**Damon: Hey =)**

**Saturday, 2:15**

**Damon: You could just tell me why you're avoiding me**

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is simply why I don't write fluff.**

**I'm really excited for the next chapter though! **

**I just want to thank all of you who have commented! You guys totally make my day and make feel like slaving over 20k words is worth it. Also, thank you everyone who has added this as a favorite, followed, and stuck with Addie and Damon this long!**


	26. Chapter 29

Addie steered clear of Damon in body and mostly mind for the next two and a half weeks following their date. Staying busy with school, track, homework, and music and sleeping during the very little time she had left was working very well on keeping her mind off of him. Track practice had doubled since the season was about to start leaving her with 4 hours of running and a bit of weight training on days she had gym and 2 hours the days she didn't. Her body still hadn't gotten use to the new routine and every movement was a burning ache. If being tired physically wasn't enough, she had been pushing herself to stay up until three in the morning to work on her music. The songs weren't coming as easy as usual; nothing was catchy enough or if it was, the recording and mixing of it was simple. She couldn't come up with that perfect piece that showed off enough of her skills without being over the top and still had appealing lyrics.

Finally descending from the attic, she quietly got ready for bed in the bathroom like every other night. Coming back into her room, she thought she saw a shadow but she was seeing a lot of those lately; one of the hazards of not getting enough sleep. Crawling into bed she groggily reached out for a the form of a lump. Closing her fingers around Loki the wolf, she frowned and felt around again for a pillow. Scowling, she squashed the pillow into a better shape and shoved it under her head. Stupid stuffed animal; she didn't know why she kept the thing on her bed. She didn't want to think about Damon in the wee hours of early morning.

Ever since their date, she couldn't help but keep thinking about the one thing that was preventing her from turning to him like everything was ok and perfect. She just couldn't get over the fact that he had slept with Rose. It's wasn't that he just had sex with her though; he had the nerve to do that and then just hours later tell her she was everything for him. How could she believe him when he had just had sex with another girl? Yet, she was ok not believing she was everything for him. That idea made her almost as uncomfortable as him sleeping with Rose. But that was just Damon; he just had indiscriminatory, emotionless sex. Addie believed him when he said it was just sex with Rose but it still really hurt that he had slept with her to begin with. She logically knew she had no right to be upset with him, like she had told him, but she was. It didn't make sense and she couldn't explain it but even though he hadn't done anything wrong, she still felt like there wasn't something completely ok with him having sex with Rose.

Huffing in frustration, she turned to the other side. What she really needed was someone else's perspective. She couldn't talk to Bonnie as she already made her decision on Damon; he was bad and that was that. Addie should just stay away from him. The person who she really wanted to talk about Damon with was her sister. Elena also saw the good in Damon; she loved him. Of course, that could make her biased but Addie'd hope that Elena loved her little sister more and would make her discussion on what was best for her and least likely to hurt her. However, talking to Elena was out of the question because all week she had be cracking snide, snarky jokes about Addie and Damon being together. Addie didn't bother to correct her; she knew her sister was just jealous.

It was the feeling of Damon shaking at Addie's shoulder, clamping his hand over her mouth that made her eyelids begin to flutter in the first stages of waking up. Feeling someone muting her, Addi was suddenly wide awake her eyes flying open in panic. She held back a gag as the scent of alcohol assaulted her. Turning her head, she saw Damon, a finger pressed to her lips, telling her to be quiet. He must have seen the confusion and fear in her eyes. Had he been the shadow she kept seeing in her room so late at night?

"Be silent," he uttered, slowly removing his hand from her mouth. "Someone is in the house."

Addie felt a tightening in her chest. "Why are _you_ in my room? Why would you tell me that?" she hissed almost inaudible. "What am I supposed to do about it?"

Damon frowned, "I, uh, I just thought you should know. You definitely shouldn't do anything; you could get hurt."

Hearing a suspicious noise from the bathroom, Addie slipped out of bed and tiptoed light towards the door. Damon grabbed at her elbow, shaking his head.

"Do not go in there, Addison," he ordered, pulling her away from the door.

She yanked her arm from him and scowled, "I have an intruder and Dracula the Creepy, Cowardly Count inside my house. If the vampire isn't going to do anything the petite, teenage girl is. Seriously, what are you doing here?"

"It's a witch," Damon growled, pulling at her arm again. "He's strong. I didn't even notice him until he was upstairs. He'd have me on the floor before I could do anything," he snapped defensively, his words slightly slurring together.

Shaking him off again she snarled, "How long have you actually been here?! I don't care who or what it is. It could be Klaus for all I care. The point is that they're in my house with my sleeping, defenseless family."

"And how are you going to protect yourself?" he challenged.

Sighing, Addie stalked back to her bed and lift the mattress. She pulled out a sword and sheath set. Unsheathing the katana and dropping the scabbard on her bed, she turned to Damon with raised eyebrows. "Defensive enough?" she muttered, heading back towards the bathroom.

"Who the… What… Why the hell do you sleep with a sword under your mattress?" Damon asked, completely confounded.

She shrugged, hand on the doorknob, "I took a year of iaido when I was eleven. It was basically learning a bunch of samurai killing moves. I sleep with it under my mattress because, hello! I live in a world where people break into my house. It's not like it's a live blade; only the top two inches are sharp. "

Slowly, Addie opened the bathroom door, ignoring anything else Damon may have to say. By the glow of the night light, she could see that no one was there but using the sword, she lifted the shower curtain to check behind it. Cautiously, still light on her feet, she crept towards Elena's room; she didn't usually keep the door to bathroom open. Light from the hallway flooded her sister's room, which was empty except of Elena curled up fast asleep. Frowning, Addie moved towards the hallway, the sword held defensively in front of her. Not seeing anything in the landing area, she made for Jeremy's room. Peering through the crack in his door she could see he was safe in bed. A creak behind her had her spinning on her heel in an instant, the tip of the sword just mere inches from the bare, hairy chest of the man behind her.

Alaric cleared his throat uncomfortably, awkwardly lowering the bowl of ice cream he was holding in front of his boxers, "Addie."

"I heard something," she tried to explain, seeing his eyes flash to the katana in her hand. She flicked her wrist so the tip pointed away from him but she could still quickly regain an offensive or defensive stance if needed. Her eyes were flickering everywhere, too concerned about who was in the house to be embarrassed.

She heard Alaric chuckle nervously and spied Jenna coming up the stairs dressed in Alaric's shirt Jenna pulled at the shirt self-consciously, "That was us. I'm sorry.'

"We didn't think anyone else was up," said Alaric apologetically.

Jenna laughed awkwardly, "But here you are."

"We were just… um… Chunky Monkey?" Alaric offered, holding out the bowl of ice cream.

Addie shook her head, "No, no thanks. I'm not very hungry."

"Well," Alaric chuckled uncomfortably, "I'm naked. So I'm gonna go."

Alaric passed by Addie and into Jenna's bedroom, shutting the door behind him. She debated whether or not she wanted to scope out the downstairs for the mystery intruder. Alaric and Jenna were just down there and they were fine. In fact, all of them seemed safe and fine. Damon was drunk; he probably just overreacted to hearing her aunt and Alaric. Nodding to herself, she turned back towards to Elena's room to get back to her own.

"I'm really, really sorry," Jenna apologized, as Addie reached her sister's doorway.

"It's ok, Jenna," she smiled uncomfortably, "don't worry about it."

Jenna crossed her arms in front of her and nodded towards the sword, "I can't help but worry. Nightmares, still?"

"No, they've stopped," Addie said quickly before shrugging, "I've had a few. It's not that _crazy_ to be worried about my family's safety, considering the accident."

"I don't think you're crazy," her aunt said gently "but going ninja is a little extreme."

Addie's eyes began to water and her lower lip began to tremble, "I know. I normally have it under control, I swear. I was just having this dream and I woke up to a noise…. I got scared and overreacted."

After a minute of assessing Addie, Jenna nodded, "Ok. You promise me you'll let me know if the nightmares get worse? If the panic and anxiety start to come back?"

"Of course, Jenna. It's probably just because I've stopped taking the anti-anxiety medication to help me sleep," Addie shrugged dismissively. She should have come up with a better cover story; the last thing she needed was Jenna assessing every bit of her emotional state when she was really completely fine.

"Maybe you should go back to taking it. It might help with the nightmares," suggested Jenna before turning into her room.

That was it; she had enough of Damon's nonsense. She was going to demand why the hell he had shown up shit-faced in her room and just exactly how many times he had done that before. It was beyond on creepy. Addie was well aware of Damon's obsessive tendencies, which was one of her reluctant reasons about getting involved with him but this… this was a new extreme. However, when she got back to her room, he was already gone. That drunken idiot. She didn't know what he thought he was doing but before she climbed back into bed, she made sure her window was latched closed.

_Damon, Damon, Damon!_ All she could think about was that arrogant, smug vampire. She sighed, daring to look at the clock. 4:38. She'd only gotten an hour and a half of sleep before Damon had woken her. If she didn't fall back to sleep, it would be likely that she would fall asleep in English or math again. On her back, she looked up at the little plastic stars on her ceiling. Somewhere around 6:15, she finally drifted back off to sleep.

* * *

Hearing a knock from downstairs, Addie scowled and blindly snatched a shirt and a pair of Converse out of her closet. She would just have to deal with not matching today. Already she was going to have to rely on Elena taking her to school since she missed the bus. It took Jeremy banging on her door this morning for her to wake up; her alarm, which was still going off, had apparently woken him up twenty minutes early.

Brown Jimmy Hendrix t-shirt and and lemondrop yellow Converse. Color coordinating was not in her cards for the day. She grabbed her backpack, which she had thankfully had the foresight to pack the night before.

Addie raced down the stairs, taking them two at a time. "I need an ETA, Elena. I missed the bus and need a ride," she called, uncertain of where in the house her sister was.

"School's on hold," Elena answered from the kitchen.

Addie groaned, seeing Damon and Stefan in the kitchen with her sister. "No, no, no, no!" she whined, joining them. "No vampire crap! I have a math test. Or maybe it's Latin. Either way, I have test I need to go fail."

"I think you mean pass," corrected Stefan.

She shook her head, her lips pursing, "Considering I can't even remember what class it is in, I'm undoubtedly going to fail. I didn't study for a test in either. I only remembered I had a test today as I was brushing my teeth."

Elena turned to her and gave her a knowing look, "Damon and Stefan have had a very busy morning. They went to go see Katherine."

She sighed in resignation, dropping her backpack on the counter. "I'm gonna need someone to forge me a doctor's note or something. And I'm going to need coffee, lots and lots of coffee," she grumbled, going to the coffee maker; it had become her new best friend over the past couple of weeks. Finding it empty and not reset only further irritated her.

"Back on topic: Katherine said she'd give us the moonstone and disappear from Mystic Falls for forever," informed Damon.

Her foot tapped against the floor impatiently, as she glared at the coffee maker willing it to go faster. "You're an idiot if you believe her," she mumbled to herself, not in the mood to filter her thoughts before speaking.

"Of course I don't believe her. I'm not you," Damon sneered at her. He turned back to Elena and continued, "But we do want the moonstone."

"According to Rose's friend Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break," Stefan told Elena.

"No spell, no doppelganger sacrifice. Ergo, you live," smirked Damon.

Addie rolled her eyes. This conversation was going to get them nowhere. Admittedly, it would be interesting to see Damon and Stefan react to her sister. One of the few things Addie told Elena about the date was Damon's suicidal plan involving the moonstone.

"How do you destroy it?" Elena questioned, playing along.

"By releasing it from the moonstone," Stefan said simple.

Addie joined them around the counter, cradling a steaming mug of coffee. She had an actual question she hadn't considered before, "How do you guys even know this is gonna work?"

Damon tilted his head, looking at her as if the answer was obvious, "Because we have a crafty witch on our side."

"That's no-"

Elena cut her off, scoffing, "You discussed it with Bonnie?"

"She agreed to do anything she could to help us," confirmed Stefan with a shrug.

"It's Katherine who has the moonstone," her sister emphasized. "She's not gonna give it to you."

Addie scoffed, glaring at Damon, "It's not fair to draw people into your stupid plans when they don't know what's at stake!"

"You _really_ want to discuss what's fair with me, right now?" Damon growled quietly so Elena wouldn't hear. His normally lively, bright blue eyes were narrowed and dark, almost dangerous looking.

"Is that a threat?"

Damon rolled his eyes, "Of course not but I do think I deserve some answers."

"We're gonna get it from her," Stefan reassured Elena, ignoring the fight that was too quiet for Elena to make out..

Addie raised her eyebrows at the devilish look in Damon's eyes when he spoke up, tuning back into the conversation, "Well, what he means to say is, we will pry it from her cold dead hand if we have to."

"Bonnie just need to find a way to release the seal long enough for us to get in, get the moonstone, and get out in time for her to put it back up."

"Wow," Addie drawled, shaking her head, her eyes never leaving Damon, "I mean, it sounds like you have every _step_ of this _plan _figured out. However, it still ranks where it did the first time you suggested it."

Damon rolled his beautiful blue eyes again, "No, it doesn't. And we _do_ have it all figured out because we are awesome."

"Except for one thing," interrupted Elena. "I don't want you to do it."

Addie smirked at the jaw dropping expression on Damon's face. She moved closer to clap him on the shoulder, "Yeah, like I said, every step figured out."

He frowned, brushing her hand off him.

Stefan looked at Elena, befuddled, "What are you talking about? Elena, we don't have a choice."

"What about Klaus?" she pointed out

Stefan shrugged, "We'll find him right after we get the moonstone."

"Is that before or after he kills everyone that I care about, including the three of you?" Elena snapped at him.

"Elena, if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save your life."

She nodded, "I know. Everybody keeps saying that."

Addie watched the confused look pass between Damon and Stefan. Damon turned to her and raised a questioning eyebrow. "What?" she groaned, caving when Stefan gave her a doe-eyed look.

"That's exactly my question," provoked Damon.

"Well, I think she's upset about the same thing I was the first time you mentioned this suicidal plan. The big, bloody massacre," Addie replied slowly, pretending she had to think about it.

Stefan shook his head, "How else are we supposed to save her life?"

Addie turned her head to Damon, "I don't know. Apparently, neither does your brother since it took him two and a half weeks to come up with the exact same plan. It's alright though because Damon promised everything is going to be ok,"

"Come on, Addie," Elena called from the front door, her bag over her shoulder.

"Finally," she muttered, snatching her backpack off the counter.

"You agree that their plan is completely screwed up?" checked Elena, once they were settled in the car.

"Yep," sighed Addie, "I told you it was when I told it to you about it. Why? What are you thinking?"

Elena bit her lip anxiously, "You're a person of reason and logic, right?"

Addie frowned, "Usually. You just passed the turn for school."

"We're not going to school. It's Sunday," Elena informed her, rolling her eyes.

"Very funny. It's Monday. I know the days of the week and the order they go in. Yesterday was Sunday," Addie scowled, annoyed that her sister hadn't turned around to head back to school.

Elena shook her head, "Yesterday was Saturday. Check your phone if you don't believe me. I'm telling you it's Sunday. You've been spending way too much time up in the attic if you're losing track of days."

"I've been hit with a wave of inspiration for new music. My muse will not rest until I have composed all that floats through my mind," Addie lied in a theatrical voice. She wished it was true. Pulling her phone from her backpack she swore under her breath. There was nothing more annoying then when she was wrong and Elena was right. "Why the hell didn't anyone tell me it was Sunday? How the hell is it 10:00? I swear my alarm clock said 8:00 when Jeremy woke me up. And where the hell is Jeremy that he had to wake up at 8:20 on a Sunday"

Elena lips twitched, "It was amusing watching you spaz out; I know that's why I didn't tell you. I'm guessing the same is true for Damon and Stefan. Your clock must be wrong or you're going crazy and can't tell time. It makes sense since you somehow added in a full 24 hours into your life. Seriously, how could you think it was Monday? I have no idea where Jeremy could be; he's weird like that - always in mysterious places. I swear I'm the only normal one of us."

Of course she was the normal one; she was Saint Elena. Addie had to admit she was a bit crazy but losing track of time so badly? She was way more sleep deprived than she had been thinking.

"Yes, you're perfect. Where are we going? Why did you let me think we were going to school?"

"I… I've been thinking about this a lot, Addie. I need you to come with me on this; I hate to ask it of you but I need someone supporting me on this," her sister stumbled out quickly.

"Before I decide whether I support you or not, and I probably don't since you tricked me into the car and I'm mad, please tell me what the hell you're doing," Addie demanded, trying to keep her voice light.

Elena turned towards the Salvatore boarding house, "Klaus is going to come. You heard Katherine. You know that if we go through with their plan, _at least_ you, Jeremy, Jenna, Stefan, Damon and Bonnie die. If we go to Klaus…"

"No," Addie uttered in horror, realizing what her sister meant, "you can't do that, Elena. Jeremy and I almost lost you in the crash; we can't _actually_ lose you."

Elena glanced over at her sister, giving her a pleading look, "You are the one person who might possibly understand this, Ad. It's one versus a minimum of six. It's pure numbers, plain and simple. I know you would be doing the exact same thing if you were in my situation. Please let's not fight for once. Agree with me and let us face this together, as sisters."

"Wow. Touching, emotional speech to get me to support you heading to your death," Addie scowled. "If you want my support, you're going to have to act like you. I'm not going to stand by if this turn your into an emotional sap."

"But you will stand by?" asked Elena hopefully.

Addie nodded reluctantly, "You're right; I mean it's awful but it's…. Yeah, when you turn it into numbers, it's best to give Klaus what he wants. However, the moonstone is locked in a tomb so he's still going to be pissed and kill everyone. You shouldn't hand yourself over if he's just going to do that."

Elena frowned at her sister parking in the Salvatore driveway, "You know, if you used that argument yesterday, it might have worked. Today, I know the boys will get the moonstone out. You just have to keep them from destroying it until Klaus comes for it. With me gone, they won't have a reason to hold on to it."

"You're really serious about this," Addie whispered to herself, getting out of the car and following her sister towards the house. "What are we doing here? We just left Stefan and Damon at _our _house."

Elena shrugged, opening the door, "I'm not looking for them. We've pretty much established that they're useless. Rose is our best lead to Klaus."

"I've awoken in some twilight zone where you're borrowing part of my personality this morning," Addie muttered in disbelief, closing the door behind her.

"It's not nice to leave a girl naked so early in the morning," came a teasing, English-accented voice.

Addie caught the sight of Rose coming down the stairs, tying a dark purple, silk robe around herself. Flushing with embarrassment, Addie quickly turned around. She felt that morning's coffee try and fight its way back up. Her eyes squeezed shut, fighting against the burning prickling sensation. She was having more than just a little bit of trouble comprehending that Damon had continued to sleep with her! When he was spouting all that crap about feeling guilty, Addie couldn't believe she had actually been stupid enough to believe him. But of course he had continued to sleep with her. He had someone throwing herself at him living under his roof. Damon was obviously going to take advantage of that. It didn't matter to him that he claimed to care so much for Addie; he still slept with her! On a very regular, repetitive basis it seemed.

In the background she heard Rose and Elena continue to converse.

"Whoa," Rose froze as she realized it Addie and Elena who had just walked in. "Sorry, I thought you were,,,"

Elena nodded looking away, "I, uh, sorry, I…"

"There's no one else here," the vampire provided helpfully, figuring they were looking for Stefan or Damon.

"Actually," sighed Addie, not turning around, "we came to talk to you."

Rose smiled awkwardly, "Then I should probably get dressed."

Elena watched Rose ascend the stairs before grabbing her sister by the arm and dragging her into the living room. "What the hell was that?" Elena hissed.

"I'm guessing exactly what it looked like, another one of Damon's conquests," shrugged Addie with a deep breath, trying her best to appear unbothered.

Her sister scoffed, "Yeah, I got that part! The part I don't get is _why is he sleeping with her?_ I know you're new to relationships but you should know that you don't let your boyfriend sleep with other women! You should be freaking out!"

Addie nodded, "And I would be if Damon and I were actually in a relationship."

"What? I thought you said the date went great. Either way, he's _seeing you_, meaning he shouldn't be having sex with her," Elena explained slowly as if it was a difficult concept to follow.

Addie grabbed her older sister's shoulders and looked at her seriously, "I know. That's why we're not seeing each other. The date was great but I haven't talked to Damon since then because I was trying to sort out how I felt about him sleeping with her the first time. He said he felt guilty about that but now I'm kind of doubting that considering he's continued sleeping with her."

"So you haven't talked to Damon in two and a half weeks? All that time you've been up in the attic you've actually been working on your music and _not_ cuddling up in what has the potential to be a very awesome love nest?" questioned Elena.

"No, I haven't talked to him. Yes, I've really been working on my music. Why would I turn my studio into a _love nest_?" Addie huffed. She didn't want to keep talking about Damon; it was making her feel sick.

Elena rolled her eyes, "Because it's the perfect place for you two to hide. It's soundproof, there's the window he could get in and out and no one, especially Jenna would ever interrupt you if you were working on your music. Do you know how many times he slept with Rose before you stopped talking to him?"

"Once but what does that matter?"

"You might have made a really big mistake not talking to him for so long. What if he actually was sorry but he turned to her because you rejected him? You know how well he takes rejection!" Elena scolded.

Addie shook her head in disbelief, "You're defending him? He was basically seeing me and yet he slept with her. You just said he shouldn't have done that!"

"And I stand by that," Elena sighed, "but completely ignoring him was a bit harsh. Tell me, you at least explained to him why you were going to ignore him."

"I told him what he did kind of hurt. I figured the rest was pretty easy to figure out," Addie muttered.

Elena scoffed, sitting on the couch, "Oh my God, Addie. Guys are not that smart! _Damon_ is definitely not that smart; it took him 145 years to figure out Katherine is an evil bitch."

"If he has a hard time figuring it out,,. well,.. Damn it!" she said stomping her foot in frustration, "He hurt me, Elena. I mean, it's more complicated than you know. Either way, I'm upset with him."

"He really did hurt you," Elena understood as she pulled at her sister's hand to make her sit next to her. "I didn't think you were that serious about him."

Addie shrugged, biting at her lip, "Neither did I but I don't know…."

Elena frowned, wrapping her arms around her baby sister, "Are you going to be ok working with her?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I mean I'd rather not be around the woman the guy I like is sleeping with but this isn't about is about helping my sister do the stupidest, most selfless and courageous thing and God, I am a horrible person for agreeing to do this."

Elena hushed her and rubbed at her back soothingly, "No. You're the only person respecting my wishes and actually helping me to do something to protective the people I love against Klaus."

"I'm helping my sister to her death to save the skin of everyone else I care about. I should be finding a way to save you," mumbled Addie.

"No," repeated Elena firmer, pulling away from her sister. "We've been down that road. There is no way to save everybody. You're doing the right thing."

Addie took a staggering breath, re-grounding herself in the moment. No distractions of Damon. No melancholy over Elena's plan. It was the only logical idea when push came to shove. "Alright. We want to get to Slater to draw Klaus out and let him have you, right?"

Elena nodded, "Today, before Stefan and Damon can get in the way."'

"God. Ok," she agreed, ranking her fingers through her dark purple hair. "Just for the record, I'm taking the money Mom and Dad left to you and using it to foot what will be very expensive and extensive therapy bills, I'm gonna need a lot of help after this."

"I did say I was sorry for asking you to do this," Elena said apologetically.

Addie made a noncommittal grunt of acknowledgement to Elena as she watched Rose walk into the living room, looking perfectly poised and collected.

She smiled at them, "I don't imagine I'm a favorite for either one of you so I doubt this is a social call. What exactly do you want?"

Addie could read Rose assessing them. suspicious of their intentions. Perhaps she was bias against the woman for sleeping with Damon or for kidnapping her sister but she didn't trust her. "We want to finish what you and Damon started," she said quickly, before her sister could respond. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Elena giving her a puzzled look. As inconspicuous as possible, she bumped the heel of her foot against Elena's just hard enough for her to get the idea of following along.

Rose frowned at her, "I don't know what you mean."

"I've talked with Damon, heard his version of the story. You and him got some answers but you gave up before you got them all from Slater," Addie improvised frostily, calling on some of Damon's and Katherine's traits to sound as confident and self-assured as possible. Hanging around bad had to be good for something.

"Because somebody blew up a coffee shop with us in it," remarked Rose defensively.

She raised a shoulder and scrunched up her face in disinterest, "Minor set back. Elena and I aren't running from a little shattered glass. There's more to learn. We just have to keep questioning."

The vampire turned to Elena, "I like you better; you're less snarky. Why are you coming to _me_ with this?"

Elena looked at her sister's cool, laid back posture; arms casually crossed in front of her, comfortably reclined in the old couch, one knee over the other, her foot bouncing impatiently. There was no way Addie was so _certain_ of herself but she must have had a good reason for doing it, She seemed to have a smug satisfaction in that Rose had turned to Elena. Elena decided to do as her sister, hoping Addie wasn't going to do something stupid. "Because you owe me," she pointed out coolly. "One word from me and Damon and Stefan could have killed you for kidnapping me."

Rose smirked, "Or maybe it's because you know that they wouldn't want you doing this and their moonstone caper gives you guys a chance to sneak away."

"Nope," Addie quipped, "it's not that. We don't need their permission but we unfortunately need someone who knows how to reach Slater. As you can imagine, Damon isn't really up for playing ball. That leaves us with you. Their little plan with the moonstone gives you the chance to help us without Damon noticing, because you know he wouldn't be happy about you helping."

"What makes you think I'll go along with this?" Rose challenged, her eyes narrowed at Addie. She didn't like the girl; she was a bit… complicated but Rose could see how Damon would fall for her. Addie would definitely test his limits.

"Well, I don't know that you will," Addie admitted, "but I do know a witch who can make a daylight ring and is willing to do whatever it takes to help my sister." She smirked, seeing she had Rose's full attention, "All it takes for you to walk in the sun is the right deal."

* * *

Addie scowled at the several computer screens that mocked her, flashing "Incorrect Password" in bright red for the hundredth time. None of the regular system override codes were working. The late Slater had his information locked up tighter than Addie's limited hacking skills could rifled through the stacks of paper scattered around the elaborate system, hoping beyond all possibility that he had actually written down his password.

They had arrived at Slater's apartment to find him completely useless, being staked in the chest. Based on all the information on hundreds of vampires just on the papers, it wasn't hard to imagine someone killing him for knowing too much. Especially if that someone was Klaus or worked for him. They'd also found his overly dramatic human girlfriend, who was only dating him so he would turn her. Elena and Rose were currently consoling her with tea. Why anyone would want to turn into a vampire, Addie couldn't understand.

She gave up; she wasn't going to find anything in this mess of papers. Slater wouldn't have been stupid enough to leave his password lying around anyways. Addie got up and walked over to the seated area. In her frustrated state, she tried for as much compassion as possible but as she wasn't very good at it when she liked someone and was in a good mood, it was obvious her people skills were lacking. "Do you know Slater's computer password?"

Alice looked at her like she had grown a fourth head, "Are you seriously asking me that right now? I just saw my boyfriend with a stake through his heart."

Addie nodded, trying to be sympathetic but still wanting the information on Klaus, " I understand that. Do you know his password?"

"Who do you think you are?" Alice spat at her in disgust, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder and taking a sip of tea.

Biting back a noise of frustration she looked around the room for inspiration on the password. Eventually her eyes settled on Rose. She'd just use the same tactic she'd been using all day: manipulation. For a moment she hesitated, wondering whether Damon and Katherine _had_ really influenced her or if she was just a bit deceitful by nature. Addie would be the first to admit that she hadn't always played nice with her sister. "What if I could get Rose to turn you?" she proposed to Alice. This definitely gained her the woman's attention and a disdainful look from the vampire. "Would you show us the files then?"

Addie couldn't help but feel a little pleased with herself as Alice set down her teacup and haughtily walked over to the impressive computer system and sat behind it, keying in the password. Alice clicked away at it for a few minutes before saying, "Someone's been here. The hard drive's completely wiped out."

"Yeah, probably by whoever killed him," responded Rose bitterly

Addie looked at Elena who suddenly looked even more tense and was rubbing a hand over her face, turning away from everyone.

"Lucky for you," Alice said smugly, "Slater was paranoid. Everything's backed up on a remote server."

When Rose turned to speak to her, Addie felt an irrational wave of hatred and jealousy, "You know that she's not going anywhere near my blood, right?"

"I know," Addie bit back, "but that doesn't mean she does." Addie casually walked past her and over to Alice, peering at the computer screen.

"Kristen Stewart," the woman scoffed, "God, was he obvious."

Mildly overwhelmed and impressed, Addie took in all the information presented. "So these are all lead to vampires," she muttered.

Alice nodded, continuing to pull up more files, "Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me."

A shudder of disgust rippled through Addie as Rose spoke from right behind her, "What about that one? Cody Weber. They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah."

"I could call him," Alice suggested.

From the other side of her, Elena held out a phone to Alice, "Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus. The doppelganger is alive and she's ready to surrender."

Addie pushed past Rose as she exclaimed, "What?!"

"Oh, my God!" Alice squealed. "I knew I recognized you!"

"Get him the message, please," sighed Elena, following Addie out of the room. She wanted a few minutes alone with her little sister; Elena could see she the cracks in the tough exterior she was putting up starting. Elena and Addie had never been close but she knew she was asking way more than was fair to have her sister stand by and watch while she did this. She couldn't say for sure that she would have stood by and supported Addie if the situation was reversed. Though, the more she looked at it the less she approved of the way her sister did almost anything, even if it was more efficient and effective. Her and Addie were just too different too get along but she was still her little sister and she was still suppose to watch out for her and protect her. Elena was putting her in harms ways by inviting Klaus to be in the same room as her but Addie didn't care; she was still here. Seeing Addie continually run her fingers through her hair she made to say something but she caught Rose come into the room.

"What are you doing?" the vampire demanded.

Her mask of calm confidence back in place Addie responded coolly, "We're getting Klaus' attention."

Rose shook her head, "If Klaus knows that Elena's alive, he will find her and he will kill her." When the sisters merely shared a look with each other, Rose finally understood what was going on. "Which is exactly what you've wanted all along," she scoffed.

"It's either me or my family," respond Elena defensively.

"So this whole charade is some suicide mission so that you could sacrifice yourself and save everyone else?"

"Not entirely," quipped Addie. "It's only a partial suicide mission; there is every intent that I walk away and make sure you get your daylight ring. Gilberts always hold their end of deals."

Alice entered the room, a big grin on her and directed her attention to Elena, "Cody is on his way and he really wants to meet you."

* * *

Elena walked back towards the sitting area, sipping a glass of water. At the computer station, Addie swiveled in the chair to face her sister, a piece of paper in her hand. "Did you know -" Addie cut off abruptly, looking up from the information she held, her face draining of color.

"Did I know what?" Elena asked curiously, interested by the sickened look on her sister's face. "What is it?"

Addie shook her head slowly, "I swear I fucking hate vampires. You can't trust the whole lot of them."

Damon cleared his throat from directly behind Elena, making her jump and turn around. "What are you doing here?" he growled.

"Research," Addie called, from her place by the monitors, holding up the papers in her hands. "This guy Slater knew way more than he ever told you. You would make a really crappy investigative journalist, you know."

"Bullshit, Addie."

"What are _you_ doing here?" Elena snapped, not pleased with him talking to her baby sister like that.

Addie rolled her eyes, before glaring at Rose, who had entered the room, "Isn't it obvious? We have a Judas in our midst. One guess as to who. And here's a hint: I find his presence a hindrance at this point in our process."

Turning around, Elena gaped at Rose in disbelief, "You called him?"

"I'm sorry, Elena, Addie," Rose said meekly.

"You said that you understood," Elena cried.

"She lied," Damon and Addie said simultaneously.

Elena went to turn back to Damon but he had already stalked over to Addie and pulled her to her feet by a firm grip on her upper arm.

Addie scowled, clawing at Damon, "Get your hand off of me!"

At that moment Alice walked in the room and gave a shrill squeal of excitement, "Damon Salvatore!"

Damon turned to Ros and said in exasperation, "Get rid of her."

"No way!" Alice beamed, still starstruck as Rose grabbed hold of her arm and led her from the room.

"Back to you letting go of me," Addie snarled, again trying to escape his grip."

"Come on," he growled, dragging her with him back to Elena. "We're leaving."

Elena shook her head and helped Addie pry Damon off of her, "No."

"I said we're leaving," Damon enunciated, his voice low and threatening.

"We're not going with you," Addie said firmly.

"Uh-uh," sneered Damon, shaking a finger at her, "You two do not get to make decisions anymore."

Elena scoffed, "When have I ever made a decision? You and Stefan do that for me. Now this, this is my decision."

"Who's gonna save your life while you're out making decisions?" he barked.

Addie frowned thoughtfully, "You know, you were right earlier.I _definitely_ overrated his intelligence.."

Damon glowered at Addie, "I am so pissed off at you right now, Addison. I would not press my luck if I were you."

Elena quickly stepped in front of her baby sister, "Let's get one thing straight before this continues; you do not threaten my sister, ever. I don't care how angry you are. You hurt here and you will die, whether I'm alive or not."

Damon rolled his eyes, "Oh, stop with the dramatics."

"I'm not quite done. You aren't listening to me, Damon. I don't want to be saved, not if it means Klaus kills every single person that I love."

He took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm down but it didn't help. Eventually, he ground out, "Get your asses out the door before I throw you both over my shoulder and carry you out myself."

When Elena didn't move Damon grabbed at her wrist. After a brief struggle she was able to break free from his hold.

"Don't -" Addie started warningly when she saw her sister's hand clench into a fist at her side. It was too late though. Elena had already thrown the punch at Damon. He caught her fist in his hand with ease, making Elena gasp in shock.

"Don't ever do that again," he hissed before releasing her fist and walking away.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Addie snapped at her sister. "You can't land a punch on _me_! Why the hell would you think you could land one on Damon?!"

Elena shook her head, "He just… he… You can't tell me you don't want to hit him."

"Of course I do but I'm not stupid enough to try and do it when he's already on the offensive! You wait until his guard is down and _then_ you get him," Addie explained.

"You wouldn't get the chance," Damon snipped bitterly over his shoulder, riffling through the papers Addie had been looking at.

"Really? Because the last I check I staked you twice and got one really good smack in…. Your silence is so telling."

Elena rolled her eyes, "You tell me not to punch a vampire but it's ok for you to provoke a volatile pissed of vampire."

Addie shrugged, "I've decided that if he wanted me dead I would be dead by now."

"I wouldn't get too comfortable with that idea," Damon said in a sing-song voice.

Elena frowned at her sister, "Do you have a plan about what to do next?"

"I'm working on it," Addie scowled, watching Rose and Damon having a close, hushed conversation near the complex computer system. Getting an idea, she motioned for Elena to follow her to the kitchen. Leaning against the counter, Addie turned on the faucet. "Damon's going to kill Cody when he shows up. That's a given and there's nothing we can do about it. We need another lead to Klaus. I need to get back onto that computer and see if there were any other people Slater communicated with about Elijah or Klaus. Problem is that-"

Damon appeared, turning of the tap. Crossing his arms over his chest he raised a curious eyebrow, "You two wouldn't be in here I don't know… scheming, would you? Because that would be very, very stupid of you. Oh, don't give me that look, Addie. I taught you to run the water; you knew it wouldn't work."

"Actually," she smirked, slipping around him, "it worked perfectly." Feeling Damon's eyes on her, Addie made her way to the computer, determined to not let him intimidate her. The files on the computer were so extensive and completely unorganized. She decided to use a search with the parameters of "Klaus" and "Elijah". It was just a matter of letting the computer run through a gazillion files. She turned the chair back towards the living room and saw Rose and Elena sitting but no sign of Damon.

A set of double doors opened and Damon walked out, a determined look on his face. "Time to go. Alice is soundly sleeping and won't remember a moment of this horribly stupid day."

Everyone's heads whipped to the front doors as they burst open and three men walked into the apartment. Elena and Rose stood up but Addie stayed seated, keeping one eye on the new arrivals and another on the computer, which had so far turned up zero results.

"We're here to meet the doppelganger," said the one on the far left. Addie guessed that he was Cody.

Elena began to walk forward, "Thank you for coming."

With a bored look Damon held up an arm in front of Elena and pushed her back, whispering, "I will break your arm." Damon turned back to Cody, "There's nothing here for you."

Addie jumped up in shock as the man in the middle, who was standing slightly further back, suddenly dropped to the floor, dead. Behind where he stood was a young man in well tailored suit and perfect looking sandy brown hair. He looked like he belonged behind some fancy dance in a big corporate office. At vampire speed he moved in between the other two vampires in the doorway, looking from one to the other. Addie heard Rose gasp and saw a blur move past her. The new vampire looked at Elena and Damon before settling on giving Addie an intrigued look.

"I killed you. You were dead," Damon said in astonishment.

"For centuries now," the man replied boredly. He turned and looked at Cody and casually asked "Who are you?"

Cody look slightly flabbergasted and angry that the man had the nerve to question who he was after he had just killed his friend for no reason. "_Who are you?_"

"I'm Elijah," the poised vampire answered politely.

Cody seemed to shrink in on himself, "We were gonna bring her to you. For Klaus. She's the doppelganger. I don't know how she exists, but she does. Klaus will want to see her."

"Does anyone else know that you're here?" asked Elijah, remaining cool and detached.

"No," Cody shrugged.

Elijah's smile was charming and pleasant, "Well, then you have been incredibly helpful."

Suddenly, Elijah plunged his arms into the two vampire's chest cavity through their back. One gave a grunt as Elijah ripped their hearts out. The two fell to the floor, dead, and Elijah dropped their hearts on their backs. Damon took up a defensive position, ready to fight but in a flash the Original vampire was gone.

"Yes, he's very terrifying. Totally lives up to the hype," jested Addie into long, tense silence.

"You should be terrified," Damon sneered. "He was dead, staked to a wall and is now ripping out hearts. Not to mention it's extremely suspicious that he just up and left!"

"Or I can take this whole fucked up situation with vampires and consider every encounter where someone I care about doesn't die a victory. I'm going to live in that little delusional world of reality because the alternate is just too depressing," she snapped back.

Damon rolled his crystal blue eyes, "Whatever you say. Can we leave _now_? You've been busted. You're goons to Klaus have been killed. And Elijah didn't want Elena. I'd say your plan was a complete failure."

* * *

Addie couldn't help but feel like she was being dragged to timeout as Damon marched her and Elena to the front door. It had been a very awkward, silent ride back. She kept meeting Damon's gaze in the rear view mirror; a mixture of anger, hurt and confusion filled his eyes. She just wanted to escape him as soon as possible. Looking at him made her feel like she had been punched in the stomach.

Elena sighed and turned towards him as they reached the front door, "Thank you for bring us home."

Impatiently, Addie tugged at the locked door. Elena had the house key; hers was back in her in her backpack at the boarding house.

"Well, your ride left you. I didn't want to leave you stranded," Damon shrugged.

"She was just scared. She didn't mean to run."

Addie's head snapped up at this, "You know, I don't get why you keep defending her. Of course she meant to run! She's been doing it for 500 years. First, you give her a pass on kidnapping you and handing you over to Elijah and now, again?!"

Elena studied her sister; was she _jealous_? Or was it that she was simply not a fan of Rose? It'd just be safest to change the topic. "I can't believe Elijah's alive. Why do you think he killed those two vampires?"

"I would never have to work a day in my life if I had a dollar for every time an evil, dick vampire surprised me. Can you cut the small talk and unlock the door? Feel free to carry on with Damon once I'm at least ten feet or a closed door away," snipped Addie, feeling very uncomfortable.

Huffing, Elena fished her keys out of her purse and fiddle with the lock, muttering to her sister, "I get that you're angry and hurt but you need to chill out."

"Shut up," Addie scowled and made to push past Elena once the door was opened but Damon grabbed at her elbow, forcing her to turn around.

"What you two did today was incredibly stupid," lectured Damon.

Addie snatched her arm, "Actually, the only stupid thing was getting caught." Jeremy came in the doorway, his face grim and tried to reach for her arm as she passed him but she saw it coming and was able to dodge him. "I don't care what it is," she snapped at him, storming up the stairs. "I am done for today."

* * *

When the sick feeling Addie had from being around Damon didn't fade an hour after she left him on the porch, she gave up working on homework and couldn't find the energy to go up to the attic and work on any music projects. Though it was just after nine o'clock, she curled up in bed, still fully dressed. She was just starting to drift off to sleep when there was a tapping at her window. It could only be one person and it was just so much easier to ignore the tapping than to face him. After what felt like fifteen minutes of the incessant knocking she caved.

Throwing open her curtains and roughly yanking up the blinds, she scowled at Damon, perched in a tree branch outside her window. He held up her backpack as peace offering, giving her a small smile. Reluctantly, she unlocked and opened the window just enough to grab her bag and made to close it again. Damon was stronger and quicker, keeping it open.

"Please, Addie. You can't keep ignoring me," he insisted, frowning.

She took out her books from her bag that she should have attended today and switched them for the ones she would need tomorrow. "You underestimate me," Addie called over her shoulder, "I went five months without talking to Elena and I live with her."

Damon rolled his eyes, "I don't doubt your stubbornness. I think you proved that again today."

"I don't need a lecture. Dangerous, irresponsible, ectera, ectera,"she muttered, climbing back into bed.

"Can I come in?" asked Damon.

Addie scoffed, "You're actually asking? What's changed? You never bothered to before."

"Eh, well, I'm not entirely convinced you don't have a stake under your pillow," he shrugged, climbing in the window."Besides, we were always on better terms before."

"I didn't say you could come in," she snapped. "And what about last night? When a _witch_ was here? Why were you just in my room? While I was asleep?"

Damon walked over to her dresser and plucked from the mirror frame the picture from their date and turned towards her. "You haven't tossed or destroyed this," he mused.

"Wow. How astute of you to notice the obvious. I guess you just don't understand subtlety," Addie said snarky.

"Silence is not subtlety. It wasn't that hard to figure out that you were upset with me. If you gave me some subtle clue about _why_, I totally missed it. But the fact that you still have this," he indicated the picture, "tells me that there is still hope; that whatever I did hasn't made you hate me." Damon put the picture back and sat on the edge of the bed.

Addie shoved her knee into his back, "Get off my bed."

Scoffing, he raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Seriously, Addie?"

She nodded, "Yes, if you expect me to talk to you, yes. If you stay on the bed then you just have to reach out and touch me. When you do that I don't exactly think straight."

Grimacing, he got up to go and sit against her closet door, "Let's keep a running count of my mistakes in this conversation for the sake of amusement. First mistake is giving up that huge advantage."

"You don't deserve any advantages," she muttered, sneaking her arm out from under the blanket just long enough to switch on her lava lamp to see him better.

"Well, you're not going to be much help, are you?" he asked rhetorically. "I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess that when Elena said you were hurt and angry earlier, I was, am the cause."

Addie had to think about whether or not she wanted to answer him. She didn't; he would expect more answers and she wasn't sure she want to give them to him.

"Your silence is deafening but I'm going to take it to mean yes," he said lightly. "This leaves me with the same thing I've been trying to figure out for the last two and half weeks: what did I do wrong to trigger the silent treatment? It started right after the date so it must have been something I did then. I made more than a few mistakes on that date but which one was so awful, is the question."

She pulled the blankets around her tighter, "Wasn't something you did on the date."

Damon rubbed at his temple, thinking hard, "That leaves me with my entire history, Addie. I mean if it is something from the past, at least tell me what triggered you into being pissed off enough to completely ignore me."

"It was when you asked about an us. It's pretty much why I said 'I didn't know.' I thought about it more because I thought you deserved a real answer and decided I wasn't nearly as upset as I should have been," Addie admitted.

He leaned his head back against the closet door and groaned, "I have made you upset so many times that the scope is hardly narrowed down."

Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair uncomfortably, "Alright, I'm tired. I don't want to be at this all night. I'll practically hand the answer to you. Today only made things ten times worse. I literally feel ill being around you."

"Today? I did a lot that would have pissed you off today," reflected Damon. "Undermining your decision to help your sister with her suicide mission? I mean, it's not a repeat but I could have undermined you before. Actually, if it's that, I'm not sorry. I am really angry with you for doing that; you put yourself in danger, not to mention Elena. You may act like you hate her but you would be a complete and total wreck if you lost her. Which is why I promised to find a way to make sure she stayed safe."

"Second mistake. It's not smart to push at my buttons if you're trying for some sort of apology. You certain you want to start a fight over today? I'm letting everything you did today pass because, really, the bitch called you; I know you couldn't resist showing up and trying to get me out of a situation if you felt I was in danger. However, I can easily become very pissed off about you not respecting my wishes and what not if you _really_ want to argue about this," Addie spat.

His eyes narrowed at her in frustration; he wanted to impress upon her the stupidity of what she did today but he also wanted to get back on her good side. He couldn't pick, so he'd work on the latter but keep the former as an option. "What do you mean you're letting what I did today pass? You said today only made things ten times worse."

Addie ground her teeth together; she wasn't giving that up.

Damon frowned at her silence. If she wasn't mad about today, how could he have made things worse. Hurt and angry. Not initially upset enough. Made worse today but not by anything he did. As the pieces started to fall into place, he realized how stupid he was; no girl was _that_ cool if emotions were involved. He shook his head, not believing he'd been so dense, "You're this pissed about me having sex with Rose?"

"And again and again and again and again," she sneered, pulling the blankets over her head and around her face.

"We aren't dating, Addie. Hell, you weren't even talking to me. I'm taking this straight from what you said: it's none of your business. You can't be mad at me for continuing to fuck her once you started shutting me out," Damon snapped.

"That was one hell of a performance when you said you felt guilty. You deserve an Oscar," seethed Addie.

He rolled his eyes, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his arms on them, "I did feel guilty the first time. I haven't felt guilty since then. It has strictly been extremely drunk, angry, lonely fucking, not even sex. You know want to know why I don't? Because I don't even care that I'm doing it; most of the time I don't even remember or particularly enjoy it. You go off and give me the silent treatment with no explanation for over a week, after pretty much telling me you don't want to be with me. What am I supposed to think besides anything between us, sorry _you and me_ because you didn't want an us, being over? If you had said you needed space or time to think about things or basically anything, I wouldn't have been with her again! Why? Because I knew it hurt you the first time I slept with her. Of course, I didn't know how bad because you didn't _communicate_ with me. I would never want to hurt you again. But in my mind, everything's over. You're not going to care about what I do so why should I? So I'd drink myself stupid, which would just make me feel lonely and angry at you but that's better than being sober and knowing you deserve so much better and feeling like a selfish dick for not caring and still wanting you. Then I end up fucking Rose just to get out my anger. After that I wind up alone, in my bed, staring at your side and thinking about how awful it is that it's _not_ your side anymore. It's stupid but my bed ends up feeling too big for just me and I end up on the couch. Or there were the really, really bad nights where I would end up here because I'm terrified that I will never see you again, otherwise."

"That's creepy, Damon. No, that's beyond creepy; it's obsessive," Addie replied sternly, still trying to process everything else he said.

Damon rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly and mumbled, "Yes, well, you've always said I have an obsessive nature."

"Yeah," she drawled, "that doesn't mean I'm comfortable being the object of your obsession."

"I'm not… I'm only slightly obsessed with you and I can't help it because I care about you," he sighed.

Addie frowned, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars, "I want you to leave."

"What?" Damon asked blankly, certain he heard her wrong.

"I don't want to hear a bunch of excuses about why you slept with Rose. Nothing you say is going to make it hurt any less. Looking at you still puts awful images in my head. You're going to keep hooking up with her because you're you and I just… I can't be around you," Addie explained.

Damon bit back a smirk, "You could stop me from sleeping with her if you really cared."

She looked at him in confusion, "What?"

"If me fucking another girl really bothered you, you would stop me," he said slowly.

Addie shook her head, "You do what you want. No one could make you do anything."

Damon rolled his eyes; she was nearly as thick as him. "_You could._"

She stared at him for a minute, uncertain she wanted to voice her thought. If it was true, that was bad. If it wasn't true, he'd probably be pissed. "Are you - do you," she stammered, "are you emotionally blackmailing me into a relationship with you?"

He was quick to deny, "Of course not!"

"So, if I just said that I didn't want you sleeping with her anymore you would stop?" Addie questioned, confused.

"I'm not sleeping with her; that suggest some level of caring. And no," he scoffed, "I like you, Ads, but I'm not whipped."

She shrugged, annoyed with his game, "I don't know what you mean and I don't feel like playing the guessing game."

"If you wanted me to stop you'd just need to tell me that I haven't ruined everything I had with and that eventually there can be an 'us.' I know it's a mistake saying this, especially now but I'm starting to feel like I being strung along," remarked Damon, feeling defenseless.

"Yep," Addie remarked flatly, "mistake three and four. Saying there can eventually be an 'us' is essentially blackmailing me into an eventual relationship."

Damon rolled his neck along his shoulders; he'd been tense ever since he heard Addie planned on being in the same room as Klaus. "There are so many things I want to say to you but now… now is not the time."

"Just say them. You've already dug a hole," she replied boredly.

He snorted bitterly, "Yeah but there's a difference between digging a pit and digging a hole I can climb out of."

"Mmm...I'd rather deal with one big mess then several little mess. Besides, I've pretty much already made up my mind," muttered Addie, pulling the blankets down to her waist, getting hot.

"Well, can't you just tell me then? This a bit tedious," he sighed.

She rolled her eyes, "Mistake five: calling your discussion with someone tedious when you're trying to get back into their good graces."

Damon shook his head, "Nuh-uh, that's where you're wrong. I'm done trying; I'm not trying unless I know there is something worth trying for. After 145 years, I did learn something.

Addie shot up into a seated position, struck speechless. For several minutes she stared at Damon, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. "Y-y-you did not just compare me to Katherine." He opened his mouth but she cut him off, "I would think very, very carefully about how you want to answer that. The wrong answer would be beyond a mistake. Beyond stupid, Damon."

He licked at his lips nervously before nodding slowly, "I did, I did just compare you to her. She knew I was trying to get into that tomb. She let me believe for 145 years that she was in there. She let me have hope only to crush me. I care about you and would die for you but I'm not going to let you crush me. I'm not going to try to impress you and keep hoping for a chance with you when I have no shot. You've made up your mind; you have to tell me. You don't tell me and I'm going to have to be done with you because I can't believe you to be any better Katherine. I won't go through that kind of pain again."

Addie buried her face in her hands. She wasn't sure if she was more pissed at him for daring to compare her to Katherine or herself because he was kind of right. Well, if she was already like the wicked witch she might as well go for one last thing she wanted. "My mind is _pretty _much made up. Tell me the things you want to say but don't think now is the right time and I'll tell you."

"Why would I be stupid enough to tell you things that could possibly change your mind for the worse?" asked Damon tiredly, resting his cheek on his needs, looking at her.

"Because it would be wrong to start something when you're already burying or hiding problems or doubts? Plus, you don't know; you could be changing my mind for the better," she suggested.

"Alright. I suppose I can't say or do anything stupider than comparing you to Katherine so why not? For my next mistake I have to ask if all of this is about something more. From Monday night to Saturday you were over the fact that I had slept with Rose. Saturday… well, things kind of changed between us. We had a good date. We started kissing again; we had stopped because you weren't ready. It's an intimate thing for you. Come Sunday, I don't exist. Was it really because of what I did or is it just a convenient excuse because things were getting too serious?" Damon said gently, afraid of the answer.

Addie swallowed hard, a lump forming in her throat. "That's a whole new level of arrogant," she muttered.

He nodded, "It might be. It might just be me searching for an explanation where I don't have to blame myself. Either way, you didn't answer."

"Whatever answer gives you the most comfort. It doesn't change my mind," she mumbled.

Hesitantly, Damon began to stand up.

Addie shook head and sternly said, "No, no, Damon. You stay right there."

He walked over to the door and flicked on the light. "You're going to look me in the eye if you're going to tell me you've be stringing me along or that I've completely ruined everything and there is no hope," he stated, going and sitting next to her on the bed.

"Can you go back across the room? I can still look you in the eye from here to there," she quipped.

"Nope. I'm not making it that easy for you."

Addie scowled, scooting a few inches away from him, "Don't you have stuff you to say?"

"No,' he sighed, "not anymore. None of it matters. You're not going to give me answers so I don't see the point in bothering."

Wrenching the blankets in her hands she whispered, "It was getting too serious. It was for your own good, me cutting you out."

Damon took a slow, deep breath, trying not to jump straight to anger, "_Elaborate_."

"I will never be able to give you what you want. It's best to bow out now before anymore emotions get involved and it becomes more complicated," Addie sighed.

He bit at his lip, still trying to keep calm, "I want _you_. How can you not give me you?"

"You want a relationship, Damon. I can't do a relationship! It freaks me out just having a drawer of clothes at your place. To worry about someone else's happiness above my own? I'm selfish; I don't want to do that! Always trying to be the girl you expect, that you think I am? I can't always be that. I don't want to be that! I'm still growing up and trying to figure out who I am. I can completely change into someone you don't like. Not to mention that I don't know how to be in a relationship," she rambled, running her fingers through her hair.

"You don't have to know! Yeah, you're gonna grow but the fundamentals of who you are already in place and they make someone I l-like. I don't expect you to be anyone but you, whoever you feel that is. To be honest, I never know what to expect from you! Today?! I'm still trying to understand that. My happiness is just being with you. You can be as selfish as you want. And it's just a drawer of clothes, Ads, not a marriage proposal. You _can_ give me a relationship. So why won't you?" Damon countered back fiercely, trying to understand her.

"Do you remember when you first met Elena? She told you that you spoke like every relationship was doomed to end?" Addie prompted.

Damon ran a hand over his face; that was actually going to come back and bite and him in the ass? "And I said I was a fatalist," he recollected. "But Addie-"

She held up a hand to stop him, "We would end, Damon. You know it. Even if we were perfect for each other, we would eventually end. It's easiest and cleanest if we never get involved."

"So, for the rest of your life you're going to deny yourself any chance at romantic happiness with everyone? Because it is always going to eventually end," Damon challenged.

Addie shrugged, "It's an option."

"I'm being serious."

"Everyone else has the possibility of a peaceful parting at the end of a lifetime. You and me… if we got together it would be like triggering a time-bomb, waiting for it to explode, even if we were the perfect couple. It would be a messy end no matter what," she maintained, tiptoeing around her point.

Damon crooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face until their eyes met, "We wouldn't have to explode. I would hate it but we could part peacefully."

Addie dropped her eyes from his, her cheeks slightly coloring, "Maybe you could do that but I would never be comfortable."

"That is ridiculous," Damon said slowly, tenderly, brushing the back of his knuckles against her cheek.

She pulled away, shaking her head, "No, no. What is ridiculous is this entire conversation."

"No, it's not," he insisted. "You're sticking with no because you're afraid of getting hurt, right?"

"I guess, yeah," she mumbled meekly.

Damon nodded, hating where his mind was headed, "What if it was clear from the very beginning that we wouldn't end fighting over _that_? We might break up over something normal, like any other couple but if we're great together, we don't have to ruin everything with a nasty end and could part as friends."

Addie frowned, "How would that even work?"

"A timer, a relationship timer. From the beginning we both know when it's going to end if we work out. There's no weird period where you start thinking about leaving and I start hinting at forever. The whole time we just cherish each day we have together because we know exactly how long we have," he explained, wanting to take back the words as they kept tumbling out. He didn't want a damn clock on his relationship!

"That's like… that's a terminally ill relationship! That can't possibly be healthy," she scoffed, not believing his proposition.

Damon pursed his lips in consideration, "It is. It might even be smart. You don't worry about a really nasty fight that would just end with both of us being hurt. Why fight and argue in general when you're on such a limited time? Each day is precious. Yes, it ends but I'd rather have a defined period of bliss with you to remember for eternity than never getting a chance to be with you."

"You're actually serious?"

"Yeah," he answered, surprising himself.

Thinking hard, she watched the lava bubble in the lamp. "We couldn't actually do that…. I mean, it's insane. Could we do that?"

"We can, Addie. Say until 40, that's just over 25 years," Damon answered hesitantly.

She shook her head, "I can't. What if I change my mind and _do_ want kids someday?"

"Fine. Twenty years," he huffed.

"I break up with you at 35, then it's two years finding a potential husband, two years dating, a year engagement and then pregnant at 40. I don't think biology is on my side with that," calculated Addie.

Damon groaned, "You don't believe in marriage! Why is there this magical husband involved now?"

"Well, when a mommy and a daddy love ea-"

"You don't need a husband to get pregnant. You don't even need a guy," he scowled.

Addie laughed, "Are you _jealous_?"

Damon shrugged, "You've been jealous."

"Yeah but you're jealous of a future guy who may or may not happen after we've broken up," she giggled.

"It not funny," he growled. "And it's not because he's your husband; I'll be jealous of any guy."

Addie rolled her eyes, "What happened to parting mutually as friends?"

"That doesn't mean I'm going to be over you," muttered Damon. He broke the silence before it got too awkward, "How long will biology give me? Since future you has gone crazy and wants two completely huge, life altering things that you detest the idea of now."

She sighed impatiently, "I want to keep the option of kids open. I'm not going to raise a child without a father, Damon."

He shuddered violently, a horrible image running through his mind. What the hell was wrong with him today?

"What is your problem?" Addie demanded, her eyebrows furrowing.

Damon raised an eyebrow at her, "What? The idea of being a parent doesn't make you shudder in terror?"

"Metaphorically, yes. Literally? No. I don't let myself think about it that long. It flashes so quickly through my brain that my nervous system doesn't get a chance to respond," she grinned cheekily.

He frowned at her, "And yet we are ending our relationship so you can _possibly_ have them."

"Future Addie might not find it so terrifying," she said, raising her shoulders helplessly.

"Fine. Future Addie will simply have to take Future Damon as a lover because the kids make her so stressed and her husband just doesn't know how to relax her," smirked Damon, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"No," she stressed, "cheating is bad."

"Fine! Divorce the husband; he's a workaholic and bad in bed, anyways," he grumbled.

She laughed, "Then it's back to being a single parent. Why did I marry him to begin with?"

Damon sighed, resting his head on her shoulder, "Fine! Alright! Future Damon will step in and help with the kids if he gets to keep Future Addie as his lover."

Addie laughed even harder, "Yeah, right. You're crazy if you think I'd let you around my children."

"Why is that so crazy?" he asked defensively.

"Well, you _are_ crazy and a bad influence. Besides, do you even have a paternal bone in your body?" snickered Addie, grabbing the hand in his lap.

He nodded against her shoulder, "I haven't thought about it since I was human but it's still in me. It's one of my ribs. There _was_ a time when I was supposed to get married, inherit the family business, and pop out a few rugrats."

Tracing random patterns on the palm of his hand, she whispered, "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was a long time ago. I'd take this over being human any day," he lied. "So how long do I get you?"

"Fifteen years," she sighed.

Damon looked up at her sadly, "Seriously? That's nothing, Ads."

"Thirty five is the upper limit for a safe pregnancy," mumbled Addie, "Besides, fifteen from the day I turn fifteen. So, we'll have been together half my life and a little more."

"I hate it," he muttered, "but if that's the best I can get, I'll take it."

She shook her head in disbelief, "Are we actually doing this?"

Damon grinned, resting his forehead against hers, "I'm serious. I know we might not last the whole fifteen years but I want this. I want you."

Addie pulled away from him, frowning, "I'm still upset with you."

He shrugged, "I am sorry for hurting you. I can't do anything about the past except apologize. I promise, as long as we are together for the next fifteen years, you are the only person I'll be sleeping with. If you want to spend time continuing to be mad at me, that's your choice but the clock is ticking."

"You're going to use that everytime I'm mad at you, aren't you?"

"It's the truth," Damon smirked.

She scowled at him before asking, "Have you showered, deloused and brushed your teeth since you were last with her?"

Confused, he nodded. Addie grinned, wrapping her hand around his neck and pulling him to her. Damon stopped just before their lips connected

"Still mad at me?" he murmured.

"No," Addie sighed, "we don't have time for that."

Damon grinned, cupping her cheek, "Are we in a relationship?"

"I think so," she whispered back, smiling nervously.

He gently pressed his lips to hers. "I have so many things I should be worrying about right now but I am too happy to care," Damon chuckled, kissing her again.

She pushed at his shoulder lightly, getting him to pull back. "What things?" asked Addie suspiciously.

"Where should I begin?" he muttered, getting up and turning off the life. He kicked off his shoes and crawled onto the bed. Damon tugged at the back of Addie's shirt until she laid down next to him. Smirking, he pulled her tight to his chest, "Much better. You and your siblings were just full of bad ideas today. Jeremy didn't want Bonnie to try taking down the spell on the tomb so we could get in for the moonstone. Judgey whipped up some fairy dust to freeze Katherine for a few seconds and your brother pinched some of it. Then he went and stupidly used it. He manage to throw the moonstone out of the tomb but Katherine turned him into her new toy. My brother went in to throw yours out. Now, Stefan's stuck in the tomb and I have to keep Elena away from there. She's not too happy with me; kept beating at my chest because I had to shove her against the wall to keep from running in the tomb."

Addie sighed, slipping an arm around Damon's waist, "Any way I could get you to, I don't know, _not_ shove my sister against a wall... or anything else… actually, how about all girls? I'm sorry about Stefan."

He tugged at her hair playfully, "It wasn't like that."

"I know," she mumbled into his chest, "but I'm still not fond of it. It's Elena; I don't exactly trust her with you."

"You don't have to worry about her; I'm not interested. And I won't be shoving any other girls against anything," he reassured her. "I am also pretty worried that Elijah is apparently un-killable and is obviously up to something. The world would make much more sense if he would have went for Elena today. I'm glad he didn't because I couldn't have taken him but evil, unstoppable vampire acting fishy is bad.

"Is it possible that Elijah is not aligned with Klaus? He killed the vampires meant to take Elena to him," Addie mused, rubbing at his back.

Damon shrugged, "I don't know what to think. I do know you placed yourself in a room with four deadly vampires though."

Gritting her teeth, Addie tried to wiggle out of his grasp but he just held her tighter, "I don't need a lecture, Damon. I am aware that what I did was dangerous. It wasn't about me; Elena didn't face it alone."

"Elena never would have convinced Rose to take her up there. That was your clever little skulduggery and manipulation. If you were putting it to wiser use, I'd be impressed. Really, Ads, you gotta help me understand. What the hell were you thinking?" Damon sighed warily, stroking her hair.

Pulling his shirt halfway up his stomach, Addie placed her hand flat against his abdominal, smiling when they twitched. She let her hand travel up under the fine, black cotton and settle over his heart, beating strong and steady. "Does your heart beat slower than a human's?" she wondered, counting the beats.

He rolled his eyes; he'd play along but she was mistaken if she thought he was going to quit asking. "It's beating slower because you're in my arms. I'm calm for the first time in over two weeks." Capturing the hand stroking at his chest, Damon murmured huskily into her ear, "Admit it; you're just with me for my body."

"I'll admit that I do take a certain joy from… exploring you," she smirked, skimming her free hand along the bare skin exposed at his back.

Damon was taken aback; he had expected her to blush and tell him to shut up or something. He contemplated for a few moments on how to progress. He definitely didn't want things to go too far, heat of the moment or planned, but he also didn't want Addie to feel like he wasn't interested or rejecting her. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he brought her up the bed until her head rested next to his on the pillow. "Are you serious about this, Ads? About us in a relationship? I'm talking about in the here and now. I mean, are you certain you want this? It's ok if you're not. I just need to know," Damon questioned gently, brushing a lock of purple hair behind her ear.

Addie ran her hand through her hair, shaking slightly, "I'm scared. There's a lot that could go wrong. I'm having to trust you, which we both once said I would be stupid to do. I don't know what I'm doing. The only thing I'm certain of is that i simply feel _better_ when I'm with you and the idea of you with anyone else makes me insanely jealous. A relationship means being together more which means feeling better more and it keeps you from others, taking care of the jealousy issue. It seems like a logical choice."

"You can't do this by logic, Ads. You need to do what _feels_ right. What do you want to do? Not what do you think you should do," he pushed.

"I don't like dealing with my feelings. You know how difficult feelings can be," she mumbled.

Damon nodded and explained slowly, "Yes, we are two people who don't handle our emotions very well. It will make for a volatile relationship. I need you to try really hard and see if there are any feelings of passion, desire, care, determination and attraction inside you directed towards me."

Addie patted his cheek condescendingly and spoke in a sugary sweet voice, "You are so stupid. You're a smart ass even when asking me to figure out how I feel about you. That's not wise, Damon."

Pinching her cheek lightly, he matched her tone, "You are so adorable. You think you can reprimand me and I'll be scared straight. That's very cute, Ads." He let go of her cheek and added smugly, "We both know you wouldn't like me if I was nice; you would get far too bored."

"You do realize we get along by being mean to each other? How is that suppose to make for a good relationship?" she huffed.

"Mmm," he thought, pulling her closer at the waist, brushing his lips against her, "well, for me it's ok because I know you don't mean anything by it. I know you're just teasing me and at the end of the day you don't devalue me but respect me."

"You are very good at that," Addie murmured against his lip.

"What? This?" he smirked, giving her a long, slow kiss.

She shook her head as they broke apart, "No, you're quite bad at that. You're good at making me being mean sound so nice."

"That's not mean. That's just plain slander," remarked Damon, scandalized.

Addie looked at him as if he was a puppy with a broken leg, "It must be so hard to be so sure of yourself and find out that you're wrong."

"Oh, I don't have to be sure of myself. Remember 'oh… mmm…. ahhhhh….'" he mimicked her moaning softly.

Her face felt like it was on fire. Reaching behind her, Addie grabbed a pillow and shoved it in Damon's face, sending him into fits of laughter. "You are a dick," she growled, burying her face in the pillow they shared.

"Sorry but you walked right into that one," he choked out, still laughing.

"Shut. Up," barked Addie, her voice muffled by the pillow.

Damon grinned and lightly tugged at her waist, wanting her closer to him again, "I think I just found the key to winning arguments."

"Embarrassing me? Not smart!" she snapped, still hiding her face.

He frowned, lifting the hair that fell around her face. The moonlight from the open window was just enough that he could see her cheek was bright red. Damon buried his face next to hers, pressing kisses to the corner of her lips. Addie tried to turn her head away but couldn't from how she was laying. Sighing, he pulled back, "Ads, I was just teasing you. There's nothing for you to be embarrassed about."

She scowled, turning onto her stomach and away from him.

"Addie," whined Damon, poking her in the sides. She tried to resist squirming in response, not wanting to play his game. "You know, I can get really annoying if you keep ignoring me," he warned,

"What do you want, Damon?"

"We were actually in the middle of a very real conversation that we kind of need to finish," he pointed out reluctantly. "Remember trying to figure out if you're certain about this? About if you want me?"

"I remember," Addie grumbled, rolling back to face him. "Can I just want the you that's _not_ a dick?"

Damon cupped her cheek and lightly kissed her, "I swear I'm sorry. I didn't know you would get that embarrassed. I took it too far. I messed up. But I'm going to mess up over and over again. And each time I'm going to be sorry because I don't mean to do anything to hurt you. I'm afraid I'm a package deal, dick part included."

She bit back a smile, patting him on the chest, "That _is _the kind of information I should know. I was under the impression you were the Ken doll package."

"Ouch, Ads! First my kissing skills and now completely emasculating me? You are breaking my ego," he gawked.

Addie shrugged, "In my defense, I'm not personally acquainted with that part of you so my impression could have been correct, for all I knew."

He scoffed, "You maybe not be personally acquainted but you've met in passing. You're familiar enough to be aware of its very prominent existence."

"Well, if you say so but I really don't recall the encounter. Must not have been a very impressive," she mused.

"This witty banter thing was so much easier when you used to just become too embarrassed to respond to any sexual innuendos I made," Damon recalled fondly.

Running a hand over his chest, Addie nodded in agreement, "I'm sure it was. However, when everything you say is sexual it begins to lose effect after a while."

"You're the one who made that last comment sexual... Damn it, Addie! You did that on purpose. You changed the topic," accused Damon, brushing her hand off him in annoyance. "Can't you just answer the question? I can take a no."

"It's not that I don't want to answer your question or that I don't already know my answer and am uncertain about it. It's just that if I say it out loud everything changes," Addie confessed. "I understand that the whole point is for things to change but I was _really_ happy with the way things were before."

It was a completely valid concern in Damon's opinion. Things would shift but he wanted that so badly. He wanted to be closer to Addie; to know her better, to be able to share more of himself with her. All that would take time though. He did his best to comfort her about the idea. "I was too. Everything doesn't have to change all at once. There are no rules we have to live by. Our relationship can slowly evolve at a rate that we are both comfortable with. "

"I don't want to be with you just because it seems like the logical decision. Being with you seems to be almost magnetic. We have all these fall outs but something always pulls me back to you. There are things you have done that I felt I would never forgive you for but I have. I've tried to hate you so many times but I only end up feeling more drawn to you. I am certain I care about you as more than a friend. If we both feel that way then we do owe it to ourselves to explore it and see if there is something deeper there. It's just that if we don't connect or if we only end up hurting each other, well, I'm afraid of losing how we are. I am certain that I want something more with you, Damon. I just terrified of it all going sour," Addie tried to explain, still trying to make sense of how she felt.

Damon caught her by surprise, pressing his lips firmly against hers. Once she got over the initial shock, Addie began to kiss him back. With a light pressure against her shoulder, he encouraged her from her side to her back. Hovering over her, Damon rested his weight on his elbows, cupping her cheek gently. Feeling one hand at his neck and the other on his back, he sighed softly, deepening the kiss. Over several minutes, he tried to convey everything he couldn't figure out a way to say through the one other way he knew of expressing himself. Damon tried to coax a vocal reaction from her but couldn't. Moving to pepper kisses along her jaw, stopping briefly at her earlobe to nibble at it, he made his way to the more sensitive area of her neck, hoping for a better response. Pulling the tender flesh between his lips, occasionally his teeth nip at it, he worked his way down her neck. While he could hear the catches in Addie's breath, sense her pulse start to race under his lips, feel her hands clutching at him tighter beneath his shirt and her nails scratching just a bit harder, he still couldn't get the reaction he was looking for. Growing frustrated he moved to the other side of her throat. Skipping where her internal jugular vein and carotid artery met, he gave the left side of her neck the same as the right. Damon smirked, her breathing was fast, shaky and shallow and a hand had found its way to back of his head, holding him to her. Going back to where he had passed, he bit at her, not hard enough to hurt her but it certainly wasn't like the light, little nips he had been doing. He held back a groan as her nails dug pleasurably into his back and she tugged at his hair. This was not right; she was the one who should have been moaning, not him. Then he smelled it: blood.

Quickly, he pulled away from Addie, afraid that he had lost control. But no, it didn't look like she was bleeding and he definitely didn't taste any blood. Damon fought her with ease, raising his head despite her trying to pull him back to her neck. Studying her face, he saw that she had drawn her bottom lip between her teeth. His thumb rested against the skin just below her lip and pulled down gently, encouraging her to stop biting at it. Addie did, nervously licking at her lips, feeling Damon staring at her.

"You're staring. It's uncomfortable," mumbled Addie, her eyes closed.

Damon swiped the pad of his thumb across her lip gently, feeling marginally better when it came away blood free. She had gotten what little there was and it wasn't still bleeding. "You bit your lip. You were bleeding," he muttered.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't-"

"It didn't bother me. Why, though? Why were you biting your lip?" he questioned blankly.

Addie's brows furrowed, her eyes still closed. She couldn't just tell him; that would be almost as awkward as this. She shrugged, "Just because. You're still staring. Stop; it's weird. "

"I'm not staring at you. You'd know that if you'd look at me. What's wrong? Did you not enjoy it?" Damon pressed in concern.

She opened her eyes so she could take his face between her hands. Softly, Addie kissed him. "Of course I did," she whispered, dropping her hands, one on his neck, the other at his shoulder.

Damon shook his head, frowning at her, "No, something was wrong the whole time we were kissing. You were unusually quiet. Wait. Is this about that stupid joke I made early?"

Blushing, Addie turned her head away from him, confirming his theory.

Sighing, Damon slid a hand under her cheek and brought her to look at him again. "It was just a stupid joke, Ads. You don't need to be embarrassed or feel like you need to hold back. In fact," he murmured, dropping a slow, firm kiss to her, "I like hearing you." Damon smirked at her, "You know my ego; I enjoy knowing I'm doing the right thing and pleasing you."

"Really?" she whispered, her cheeks still red.

"Of course," he answered before kissing her again.

When Damon pulled away, Addie nodded, "Ok. But what was that kiss for? Where did it come from?"

He moved himself from over her to onto his side. A goofy grin spread across his face but he ignored it. Damon was happy; he wasn't going to hide that from her. "You said just what I needed to hear. You're serious about this, about giving you and me a chance," he answered simply.

Addie's lips twitched upwards as she rolled to face him. Grabbing the front of his shirt she pressed her lips to his fervently. Draping an arm around her waist he pulled her closer. Slightly less vigorous, he kissed her back. He'd had his kiss; he would let her be the aggressor this time. He was sure there would be plenty of kiss to come where they'd battle for control.

She pushed at his shoulder, wanting him on his back. Damon let his hand travel down her back, the cure of her butt and to the back of her thigh. Lifting her leg, he hooked it over his own before wrapping his arm tight around her waist. Rolling onto his back, he brought her with him. Pulling her knees underneath her, Addie settled her weight across his hip. He scooted her up until she was across the bottom of his stomach; it wasn't an issue now but if she continued kissing him like that so enthusiastically, her being so low over him would have potentially been very awkward.

Damon tilted his head back, allowing her easier access as she began to kiss along his jaw. Her lips barely skimmed along his neck at a painstakingly slow rate up and down both sides. He was focused on wanting Addie on his neck that he failed to noticed she had shifted so she was over his hips again. When she arrived back at his lips kissing him softly, he pulled her gently away, his hand lost in the locks at the back of her head.

"It's not nice to tease, Addison," growled Damon, the sternness diminished by his labored breathing.

"No but it's fun," she murmured against his lips, smirking.

Suddenly, surprising him, she pulled away to bite sharply at his neck just below his ear. His groan was long and deep as he tried to mind how tight his grip in her hair and her waist was, not wanting to hurt her. Her mouth was hot against his cool skin, alighting a fire in his veins that flowed through his entire body. The pressure of her teeth was just enough to send a shiver down his spine; she probably thought she would hurt him . He was so focused on the pleasure he was receiving at his neck that it was until she need his cooperation did he become aware of her trying to get his shirt off. It was only then that he remember why he had asked her if she was certain about them.

"Wait, stop," Damon uttered reluctantly, pulling the black cotton from her hands and down. Noticing her weight was centered over where the hem of his shirt lay but much lower he got slightly annoyed. One wrong shift from either one of them and she'd be brushing against his erection. He was fairly certain he wouldn't have the self control to have this conversation if that happened. When she looked at him confused, he smiled gently and rolled them onto their sides. Swiftly, Damon removed her leg from over his and put at least six inches between all body parts.

"What's wrong?" Addie hesitated, echoing his words of earlier.

Damon heard the nervousness and uncertainty in her voice, causing a tightening in his chest. "Nothing. Nothing is wrong," he said quickly, "but we need to talk before something does go wrong." He could see the confused look on her face from the moonlight filtering in through the window. Damon tucked the long bangs falling in her eyes behind her ear, letting his touch linger before deciding it would be best if they discussed this not touching at all. He sighed, "We have to talk boundaries, Addie. Physical boundaries."

Flushing, she nodded and mumbled, "Probably a good idea."

"Right," he sighed again, dragging a hand over his face, "well, my first rule is going to have to be that everyone's hands stay above the the belt. Uh, shirts stay on."

"That's regression," objected Addie. "I've seen you shirtless plenty of time. I've slept with you shirtless. You're going to start sleeping in a shirt, too? I mean the only reason you sleep in anything is because I'm there."

He scratched at his chest, his shirt suddenly itchy and restricting. She had a point and he _really_ didn't want to sleep in one; they were so uncomfortable. He conceded, "Alright, my shirt can come off but yours is staying on."

She rolled her eyes, "You've seen me in a bikini, Damon. I've compared and it's actually less material than a bra."

"Yeah, that's staying on too."

Addie shook her head insistently, "Not if we start regularly sleeping together. I'm not wearing a bra to bed. I don't know if you've tried it but it's not comfortable."

"I can honestly say that I have never tried. I guess we won't be having many sleepovers," he shrugged.

"You're being a little extreme," Addie decided. "My shirt would be on. And it's not like anyone is expecting you to cope a feel.

Damon scowled, "Fine. Your bra can come off for solely the purpose of sleep. Your shirt is always on."

Addie started laughing hysterically.

He frowned and raise a questioning eyebrow, "What is so hilarious?"

"You," she gasped out between fits of giggles. "I mean this conversation," continued Addie once she caught her breath. "_I _just had to convince _you, _Casanova himself, into being ok with me removing my clothing. This whole thing is just so messed up."

Damon rolled his eyes, "This isn't a joke, Addie. I'm serious about not wanting to mess things up with you. Us going too far would mess things up. Clear boundaries and limits are defined so nothing that we aren't ready for accidentally happens."

"Whatever happened to 'just say no?' Things start happening that you aren't comfortable with you just stop it, Damon. I - God, this is so backwards! I wouldn't want to push you into doing anything you wouldn't be ok with," snickered Addie, unable to keep a straight face.

"I know. I wouldn't do anything if either one of us was even slightly uncomfortable about it. Problem is that things can feel ok and right in the heat of the moment but you look back on it and realize it was a complete mistake," Damon attempted to explain. "I don't know about you but I would have a problem with that."

Finally regaining her composure, she nodded in agreement, seeing that this was important to him. "Ok, yeah. I can see how boundaries would help with that. I wouldn't want either of us to do something we would regret."

"Glad we could come to agreement. The next rule should be obvious but pants, shorts, underwear - they all stay on, in place," he added thoughtfully.

"How would they move if all hands are above the belt?" she pointed out.

Damon was silent for a moment, thinking, "You'd be surprised at how creative you can become. While we're in the area, I should awkwardly add no, uh. genital-to-genital contact."

"How would that happen if pants, shorts, and underwear are in place?" she grinned.

"You know what I mean."

"Ohh, you mean no grinding," smirked Addie, enjoying the light blush she could see on him.

"Well, that's not exactly - yeah, no grinding," Damon said. "Anything you want to add?"

She shook her head slowly, "No, no. I think you covered everything."

Damon nodded, "Ok. So, um, we're good?"

Leaning in, she kissed him gently. "We're ok," she smiled.

"Ok isn't 'good.' We should be starting on good," Damon frowned.

Addie continued to smiled but her voice tightened, "If you want to start now, then ok is as good as it's going to get."

"Ok. Can you explain why we have to start at ok?" he pushed.

She shrugged, "You really don't want to discuss this. Fast and dirty version: I heard your reasons but it doesn't change the fact that you've been sleeping with Rose. I get why you did it but I'm still a little bothered. It will take a little bit for me to get over it and there's nothing you can do about it"

'Understandable. You get that I'm going to be a little bothered until I figure out your reasoning for going on a kamikaze mission with your sister. I mean, I still have to worry about you doing it again as long as I don't know why because it means I can't help," Damon replied coolly.

Addie snorted bitterly, "That's exactly why I did it. You can't help, Damon. This problem with Klaus and Elena, you can't do anything. You despell the moonstone and at least you, Stefan, Bonnie, Jenna, Jeremy and me all die. He slaughtered Katherine's entire family for turning into a vampire. Another doppelganger can and has come along. The moonstone is irreplaceable. _Think_ how bad he's going to flip out, Damon. It's not an option. Don't say you'll just kill him after you despell it and before he finds out because in case you haven't noticed he's an Original, like Elijah. Remember Elijah, the vampire you staked to a wall who is very much a living corpse?

"Elena wanted to offer herself up to Klaus. She thought it made more sense for her to die and save everyone else than for everyone else to die saving her. She turned it into numbers and logic; six versus one. It was the logical choice. I mean, yes I was delivering my _sister_ to her death but she was going to do it with or without me. I didn't _want_ to go, Damon, but she asked me to. Elena was going to sacrifice herself to save the rest of our family and our friends; I couldn't tell her no!"

Tears were streaming down Addie's face by the time she finished, having only paused to breath when absolutely necessary. Damon hushed her, rolling onto his back and pulling her into his side. He felt his shirt dampen as she cried onto his shoulder. Holding her tight, he waited for her to calm down. What he was going to say, Damon had no clue. He had been thinking ever since their date for a way to save Elena without despelling the moonstone and the only answer he had come up with was to kill Klaus before he could get to her. However, based on Elijah and the rumors surrounding Klaus, that plan didn't seem like it was going to work. One very desperate plan had crossed his mind for a fleeting moment. Addie and Elena would never forgive him for it. Plus, he wasn't sure if Addie would prefer Elena to die compared to her becoming a vampire.

"I promised you that I wouldn't let your sister die, Addie. I'm not going to let it happen. I _can_ help but you just have to give me more time to come up with a better idea. There has to be an answer out there, I just need time to find it. Elena handing herself over to Klaus isn't the solution. I get that it made logical sense to you but I can't have you guys doing that. You're going to get both of you killed; I can't take that. We will come up with something to save her," Damon insisted.

How was she supposed to tell him that she didn't believe a word he said? Addie was certain that it was a hopeless situation but Damon sounded so sure. She knew that he wanted to save Elena for her but this problem was beyond his his skills. But she wanted to make him happy; she didn't want him worrying about her. Reluctantly, she nodded against his chest, "Ok, Damon. I won't run off with Elena on a suicide mission. But I'm not going to stop supporting her until we figure something out. She feels like everyone is against her when she's just trying to do what she thinks is right and save them."

"Ok," he sighed, "but not taking actions to support her. Please, Addie. You've already lost your parents. You didn't take that very well. Can you really handle your sister sacrificing herself to save you?"

* * *

**A/N: Yes, they are finally officially together! (Disclaimer: If the author writes something it does not mean the author agrees with.) All of you are wonderful for sticking it out this far - we've passed 200k words! Thank you guys so much for your reviews, follows and favorites. How do you guys decide if you leave a review or not? I have a high follow/favorite count but my reviews don't really reflect that. I've got all the smart, silent readers! I love y'all!**


	27. Chapter 30

The sounds of some anyone teen drama played in the background as Addie sat on the couch working on her biology homework. Exactly why she had to outline the entire chapter and turn it in, she didn't understand. Everyone should just be responsible for reading the chapter on their own and come test time it was tough luck for those who thought they could skate by just attending class. It was an easy boost to her grade that chapter outlines were homework, which counted as 30% of her final grade but the work was a dull, lengthy task. She never even reviewed the notes once they were handed back. When the sound from the television began flipping through different shows and commercials, she became distracted.

"Just pick something," bit out Addie through gritted teeth, trying to focus on outlining the process of mitosis.

Elena squirmed on the couch next to her and whined, "There's nothing on!"

"We get over 300 channels. Something is on every single one of them," she grumbled.

Why did her sister always have to be such a smart ass? Elena huffed, "You know what I mean."

Addie looked up from her book and watched the channels change for a moment. "Have you ever thought of doing something productive? Like, oh, I don't know, homework?"

"That, little sister, is the most boring thing you have ever suggested," Elena answered flatly.

Of course homework was boring but that didn't mean you just didn't do it. Addie was never going to get through hers if Elena kept of the channel surfing, She sighed, tapping her pen against the textbook in frustration, "Can you at least use the guide? Hearing twenty different shows is very distracting."

"Everytime I pick something from the guide it's on commercials," objected Elena, continuing to search for something to watch the way she prefered.

"That's when you use this skilled called 'patience' and wait for them to be over," Addie muttered, rereading the same sentence for the fifth time.

Elena really couldn't understand how they had been raised by the same parents and turn out so differently. Addie was just so snarky. Pausing, Elena looked at her suspiciously, "Why are you even doing that down here? You always do your homework in your room. In fact, the last couple of weeks you haven't been down stairs at all. Why the change?"

"I thought your house arrest would be amusing to watch. Unfortunately, it's turning out to be just more of a nuisance. Seriously, _stop changing the channel_," Addie snapped, reached across the couch and snatching the remote from her sister. Ignoring Elena's complaining and protesting, she scrolled through the guide. Finding that a rerun of _Gossip Girl_ was airing, Addie selected that station before sitting on the remote. She was just getting back into the flow of note taking when the front door opened.

"You should really lock your door," Damon grinned, strolling into the living room. Elena glared at him while Addie simply turned back to her homework. "Oh, come on, pouty. At least give me two points for ingenuity."

As he took a seat in between the girls Elena scowled at him, "You think this is funny?"

"Extremely," snickered Addie, turning the page.

Damon rolled his eyes, "Yes, Elena. I find hilarity in the lengths that I have to go to repeatedly save your life?"

"If that's the case, why isn't she trapped in her?" Elena said, indicating her sister. "She went with me. Isn't that just as reckless?"

He shrugged, "Addie doesn't have precious doppelganger blood Klaus is out to get. Her trying to get to him would be extremely pointless ergo no reason for lockdown."

"What does Stefan say about this?" asked Elena haughtily, still trying to find a way out.

"We had a good laugh."

Addie paused in her note taking to question, "What did he say about Elijah still being alive? Any idea on how to kill him?"

Turning to look at her, Damon draped his arm along the back of the couch behind her. "Yeah, about that…," he stalled," I didn't tell him.

"Why not?" she wondered.

"Well _A_: he can't do anything about it; and _B:_," he paused to think, "what I just said."

Addie looked from her textbook to him, her lips twitching, "You would really suck at debate."

"Obviously," he stressed. "I'm far too cool to be on a debate team. You, however, are not," Damon said as he looked at her analy organized notes.

"Considering you need actual intelligence for debate, I'm going to take that as a compliment," she replied distractedly, scribbling at the paper in her lap.

"It was not," pointed out Damon.

Addie shifted her spiral so she could read the next column of text. She scowled, "Why do I need to know how a cell divides? It just does."

As she said this, Jeremy entered the room and sat in the arm chair. Damon frowned at him and asked, "Where is Bonnie?"

"I thought she was meet you," the boy said slowly.

Damon shook his head, "No, she's on moonstone duty and I'm on Elena patrol."

Addie's eyebrows knitted together in thought as copied a line from her textbook. "Why, exactly, would Elena need patrolling if she can't leave the house? She's not stupid enough to just ring up Klaus and tell him to pop by the house for a friendly chat.

"Thank you!" Elena exclaimed. At least someone thought she wasn't going to do anything stupid.

The vampire studied Addie with narrowed steel blue eyes, "You're right. I'm on Addie patrol now. Elena has no way to contact Klaus. You're free to leave the house and collect such information. The two of you left alone would then be stupid enough to call him up and ask him to swing by."

"We should have had Bonnie spell her into the house, too," Jeremy mused. "Who's on Tyler Lockwood and the full moon?"

"Vampire Barbie asked me if she could handle it, and I thought 'why not?' Figured if she screwed up he'll take a bite out of her and then I'll be rid of two of my problems," shrugged Damon.

Elena turned her attention from the TV to him, "Hold on a second. Tonight's the full moon?

The annoying sound of melodic xylophones began issuing from Damon's pocket. He pulled out his cellphone intrigued by the caller ID. He couldn't think of any plans going on that Alaric would call about. Speaking over the noise he answered Elena, "Yep, but you were too absorbed with all your suicidal tendencies to notice." Walking towards the front window he answered his phone, "What?"

Addie watched Damon intently, trying to glean as much information as she could from hearing only one end of the conversation. He never took calls around her, unless he was expecting one but this one didn't seem to be one of those.

"What? Why?... What girl?... That's not good. Where are you?... I'm on my way."

She raised her eyebrows in question as he rejoined them but he just minutely shook his head.

"Change of plans," he announced. Damon pointed at Jeremy was walking back from getting a drink in the kitchen, "You babysit."

"Easy enough," Jeremy replied, flopping backwards over the arm of the couch.

Addie cried out in frustration as her brothers head landed in her lap, on top of her textbook and sheets of paper, "Hey! I'm trying to work, dillweed."

"School and productivity are overrated," dismissed her brother, grinning up at her.

Damon was walking out when he turned around and smirked at Elena, "Hey, you know, you should get out, enjoy the sun. Oh wait, you can't."

Pouting, Elena picked up an old pillow and flung it at his retreating back. Jeremy laughed at her and she pushed his legs off the couch. Taking advantage of him already being a bit unbalanced, Addie pushed him off her homework, sending him to the floor. He just laughed harder.

"You know," Jeremy thought aloud, rubbing where his back hit the floor, "this new little friendship between you two is toxic. It is not in the natural order for you two to work together and gang up on me."

Elena ignored him, stepping around him and storming up the stairs.

Addie snorted, realigning her papers and finding where she had left off in the book, "I think she's cranky about being trapped inside."

"No, she's a grump because she can't go see _Stefan_," chirped Jeremy, forcing his voice into a sappy, sweet tone on the name. "Speaking of vampire boyfriends, what's going on with you and Damon? I haven't heard anything since the date. I mean, you haven't asked me to cover for you or anything."

She tilted her head further down so Jeremy couldn't see her face. Not usually but sometimes he could tell when she was lying. Addie lifted one shoulder, "Nothing's going on. I told you it was an experimental date. We tried it and there just wasn't a connection, a spark."

"That's a lie," he declared, searching the room. "Where's the remote?"

"That's the truth," stressed Addie as she pulled out the remote from under her and handed it to him.

Jeremy slumped down into the couch next to her and change the television to the SciFi Network. "It's a lie," he insisted. "I've seen you two together and there is definitely a connection. So what's going on? I can keep a secret, Ad."

She shook her head, focusing on her notes, "Nothing is going on."

"Ok," he drawled out, "then why not?"

"Because Damon's an idiot," she muttered, turning the page and continuing her notes.

Jeremy was quick to turn defensive of his baby sister. "What did Damon do?" he demanded.

Wouldn't anyone just let her work? Why couldn't he just drop it instead of playing detective? Addie dropped her pen in frustration, "Where do you want me to start? He didn't do anything specific that made me uninterested. I just realized he was an idiot. Shouldn't you be glad I'm not with him?"

"I wasn't the biggest fan of you and Damon," her brother admitted, "but he cares about you and you were good with him, happy. That's all that I care about, your happiness."

"You know I was never actually _with _him, yeah? We were friends and we still are good friends. I can deal with him being an idiot as a friend but I couldn't date him. I couldn't put up with half the stupid things he does," lied Addie. "I appreciate your interest in my love life but it's nonexistent and I am perfectly happy about it and my life."

Jeremy raised his hands innocently even though she was more interested in her homework than him, "Didn't mean to overstep any boundaries. It's just that I get that you and Elena don't get along very well and so you probably wouldn't want to talk to her about it. You can always talk to me, though."

"No, I cannot," she laughed.

"Why not?"

"Because you don't react like a friend or sister would. You're my big brother and your immediate response is attack now, ask questions later. You think something is wrong and you automatically get defensive of me. Besides, talking guys with you would just be weird," she explained.

"No, it wouldn't," he insisted. "We talk about everything."

Addie rolled her eyes. She just wanted to get her work done; she still had reading for an English quiz and some Latin. In hopes that it would shut him up, she caved, "Yes, ok. If it was some guy you didn't, well you and Damon aren't friends but you're close enough to make talking about him with you awkward. If I say something to you about him, you're gonna see him again and probably want to clock him one."

"See?! I knew he did something. Tell me what happened," ordered Jeremy.

She slammed her book shut. Turning to her brother, she said quietly, "Damon didn't do anything. I was giving you a hypothetical situation. _If_ Damon kissed me, would you actually be able to face him without wanting to punch him?"

Jeremy's face turned red and his lips pressed into a thin line, "Did he kiss you?"

"Exactly my point. You may be cool with it in theory but in reality, you _don't_ want to know."

He nodded once and turned back to the television. Addie reopened her textbook and scribbled out the last of her biology notes before going upstairs to get her copy of _Catch-22_. She went back downstairs and to the kitchen. She made two cups of hot chocolate and topped one with whipped cream.

"Oh! Awesome!," Jeremy grinned as Addie passed him the steaming mug without the sweet topping. "Have I ever told you that you're my favorite sister?"

"Do not say that. Elena will think you're serious if she hears you and then that means a world of torture for me," Addie cautioned, setting her cup on the side table next to the arm chair she curled up in. She had to finish half the book that night; getting by during lectures on CliffNotes wouldn't cut it for the quizz. Not keeping up with the reading had been a pretty bad idea.

Addie became so absorbed in the book that she didn't notice when Jeremy left the room or when Aunt Jenna came home. It was the knocking at the door that finally drew her attention away from the dullest book in creation. She noted the page number before dropping the book in the chair and opening the door. Quickly, she slammed it back shut. It wasn't possible; he could not be here.

"What is your problem?" Jenna asked from behind her, seeing her niece pushing against the door.

Addie shrugged innocently, saying the first thing that came to her mind, "Stranger danger. Mom always said don't open the door to the people you don't know."

"It's someone writing about small town Virginia, Addie, not the boogeyman," her aunt frowned, gently pushing her out of the. Jenna hesitated before opening the door, "Did you start taking your anti-anxiety medication, like I suggested?"

"Yes," she lied "when I go to bed. I'm fine."

"We'll discuss it later," Jenna said out of the corner of her mouth. With a winning smile plastered on her face, Jenna swung the door open. "Hi! You must be Elijah," she greeted extending her hand for him to shake.

Feeling her hot chocolate trying to fight its way back up, Addie could feel her heart pounding in her chest. A box was trapping her thoughts so all she could think about was how to keep her aunt from inviting in the vampire. The panic was starting to take hold of her. Maybe Jenna was right to be worried about her. Or maybe she'd be just fine if evil, unstoppable vampires didn't show up on her doorstep.

The exchange between Elijah and Jenna was lost to her as she stepped back towards the living, obsessively running her hands through her hair nervously. This anxiety was just hard and round, like a pool ball, she imagined. It felt like it was purple, a deep, royal purple associated with those of nobility. All Addie had to do was throw the ball through the glass wall and it would shatter; she would break free of the panic. Mentally, she threw it, sending sharp shards of glass in every direction. Which crackpot therapist had taught her that? It had to have been the stupidest idea ever; she was still freaking out.

"Addison May!" Jenna snapped, after calling to her niece three times.

Addie spun on her heel coming face to face with her aunt and Elijah right behind her. Jenna was looking at her expectantly. She quickly transformed her face into an innocent, apologetic frown. "I'm so sorry. I completely missed what was said. I was just reading _Catch-22_ and, well, you know how my mind tends to drift off into a different world when I read."

"A very profound book. My favorite quote is: 'History did not demand Yossarian's premature demise, justice could be satisfied without it, progress did not hinge upon it, victory did not depend on it. That men would die was a matter of necessity; which men would die, though, was a matter of circumstance, and Yossarian was willing to be the victim of anything but circumstance. But that was war,'" Elijah recited perfectly, staring into her eyes meaningfully. "Yossarian knew the moment he walked onto the battlefield that he was probably going to die and he wasn't afraid of it. Instead of being anticipating and afraid, he was apathetic to the fact that he was going to die or kill someone. However, it's important to note that if Yossarian were not so apathetic but had the adrenaline and anticipation like other men, he would be more likely to survive.

"Listen to me; talking like I'm a pretentious writer when I haven't even introduced myself. It's a pleasure to meet you, Addie. I'm Elijah," the vampire smiled charmingly, presenting his hand.

This was better than she could have imagined; an evil vampire out to get her sister had been invited to her house and he seemed to speak in riddles. Reluctantly, she shook his hand. Beneath her skin, his was much cooler than Damon's skin typically was; it wouldn't have been suspicious, though. Jenna had probably just thought he had cool hands from the night air or bad circulation. It seemed that Elijah didn't worry about a caffeine intake to keep his body temperature higher. For some reason that just made him seem scarier. Feeling like her mouth was stuffed with cotton, she struggled out, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Elijah is in town doing research on Mystic Falls. He's going to go through your mom's files from the Historical Society," Jenna informed Addie, going to the cupboard under the stairs.

Raising her eyebrows, Addie feigned interest while trying to get up the stairs unnoticed, "That's actually a very interesting topic if you're open-minded, otherwise I find it rather dull. Mom has - had a lot of files. Combing through for what is actually useful will take some time."

Elijah continued to smile politely, "I'm researching what makes Mystic Falls so mystical, so you could say that I am open-minded. With that, I expect it to be extremely difficult to find relevant, factual information. I do plan on being in town for a while."

"Ah, well, you should definitely try the Mystic Cinnamon Cider from the Mystic Grill. Rumor is that the recipe dates back to the founding of the town," Addie suggested, halfway up the stairs. That the cider contain traces of vervain didn't seem like an important fact to mention.

"Indeed, I will. Again, it was nice to meet you, Addie. I expect we shall meet again in a town so small," Elijah said pleasantly, giving her a knowing look.

She nodded before scrabbling the rest of the way up the stairs and to her room where she had a difficult time unlocking the door because her hands were shaking so bad. Once inside, Addie fumbled with her phone, calling Damon. It rang twice before going to voicemail. He had seriously ignored her! Did he not get that if she was actually _calling_, it was important? She tried again and it rang once before going to voicemail. Scowling, she decided to try one more time. He picked up on the first ring.

"Not a good time, darling. Kinda of in the middle of a werewolf problem," came Damon's voice through the receiver, falsely sweet and clearly annoyed.

"I'm in my room and Elijah's downstairs _in the living room_," Addie whispered, full of panic.

It took a moment for Damon to reply, "You win; my problem's not that bad. Unfortunately, I don't know what you expect me to do. I'm at the Grill."

"Tell me what _I'm_ supposed to do!" she hissed. "He's been invited in, Damon."

Damon sighed, "You hope like hell that he vamps out like before. On the off chance that he doesn't, find or make at stake and do your best to get his heart before he gets you. It won't kill him but it should keep him down long enough for me to get him away from you.

There was a knocking at her bathroom door. She quickly hung up on Damon and cracked the door open to see her sister, pale as a ghost, on the other side.

"Would you mind coming into my room for a few minutes?" Elena asked stiffed.

"Yeah, no problem. Just, uh, just give me a second," agreed Addie before closing the door, not giving Elena a chance to respond.

She went to the sock drawer of her dresser and pulled out a vervain soaked stake that she had nicked from Alaric. At her back, she slid the stake underneath the waistband of her jeans and her t-shirt. Back to her bathroom door, she opened it and went through to Elena's room. Addie wasn't exactly shocked to see Elijah standing by Elena's window.

"I would prefer if you set that on the bed," commented the vampire, gazing out into the night. "I mean your family no harm and I would prefer this to be a civil conversation."

Addie frowned, "I would prefer not to. You tried to kidnap my sister. However, I would prefer not being put into a situation where I feel forced to use it."

"Fine," Elijah consented. "As a show of good faith, keep it. Mind you, I do not need you as part of this conversation. You are here because your sister trusts you and values your input; however, I sense that you will go along with whatever she wishes."

"Ah, well, now that we've established I'm here because I'm a mindless idiot bent to my sister's will a bigger question begs to be answered. Why are you here?" snipped Addie. "Or shall we go further back and get an explanations as to why you killed those vampires when they came to take Elena?"

Elijah picked at invisible lint on his suit, saying coolly, "I always find it makes more sense to start at the beginning. I did not kill those vampires because I did not want Elena to be taken. Klaus is the most feared and hated of the Originals, but those that fear him are desperate for his approval. If word gets out that the doppelganger exists, there'll be a line of vampires eager to take her to him and I can't have that."

"Isn't that exactly what you're trying to do?" countered Addie.

Elijah was elusive, "Let's just say that my goal is not to break the curse."

"So, what is your goal?" Addie demanded, annoyed by the vampire's riddles and secrets.

"Klaus's obsession has made him paranoid. He's a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle," lectured Elijah.

"Like you?" she interrupted.

He shook his head and divulged, "Not anymore."

"What happened? Did he throw a tantrum because you refused to share dinner one night?" taunted Addie.

Elena looked up at Elijah from her spot on the bed and spoke up for the first time, "You don't know where he is, do you? So you're trying to use me to draw him out."

Elijah smiled politely, "Well, to do that I need you to stay put and stop trying to get yourself killed."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" challenged Elena.

Addie crossed her arms in front of her, scowling. Trusting the bad vampire was not a path she wanted to go down again. Last time, well, Damon had been trouble at best. "Unfortunately, I believe he is telling the truth. If he wasn't, he'd be on his way to Klaus with you right now."

"Exactly," he agreed. "Instead, I'm here and I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

"What kind of a deal?" asked Elena suspiciously.

Elijah shrugged. "Very simple on your end. Do nothing. Do nothing, live your life, stop fighting and then, when the time is right, you and I shall draw out Klaus together and I shall make sure your friends remain unharmed.

That was just too fishy sounding for Addie. "Then what?" she demanded.

"Then I kill him," he said simply.

Elena frowned in disbelief, "Just like that?"

Elijah nodded and affirmed, "Just like that. I'm a man of my word, Elena. I make a deal, I keep a deal."

"How are you gonna be able to keep everybody safe?" wondered Elena.

Elijah: I notice you have a friend; Bonnie, is it? She seems to possess the gift of magic. I have friends with similar gifts.

"You know witches?"

Addie rolled her eyes, "No, Elena. He knows magicians who _really_ know their stuff. They make Criss Angel look bad. Of course an ancient vampire is going to know witches! Katherine had a witch. Damon had a witch. When did any of that ever go right?"

"It's a plan," Elena stressed.

"Well, Katherine's witch did get her stuck in the tomb. And Damon's witch was gonna have him killed, which I wouldn't have exactly hated at that time. Maybe it could work," reflected Addie.

Elijah reassured Elena, "Together, we can protect everybody that matters to you. So, do we have a deal?"

Addie saw her sister start to nod and open her mouth. Quickly she exclaimed, "No! No deal. Not yet."

"We're negotiating now? This is your sister's deal, not yours." Elijah observed, surprised at the girl's bravado.

"I'm here because she values at my input," sneered Addie. "I working in her best interest _and_ yours. Without announcing herself, Elena has been as the doppelganger twice; first by Katherine Pierce and then by the pair that handed her to you. She has needed either protection or saving in both these situations, given we didn't know your agenda. There are two people who will do anything to protect her. Unfortunately, one of them happens to be locked in a tomb from which vampires can't escape. Our witch isn't quite strong enough to lift the spell trapping him. I'm guessing your witch has a little more juice. You get Stefan out and my sister will agree to your deal."

Elena looked at her little sister with surprise, impressed with her argument as Elijah seemed to be considering it.

He nodded, "I suppose that is an acceptable exchange."

Addie caught Elijah's eye and slightly jerked her head towards her room, "We would like it to be done as soon as possible. Tonight would be idea."

Elijah nodded again, keeping eye contact with Addie, "I'll have it taken care of as soon as I leave."

"Good. Well, my business here is done. Elena, Elijah," Addie smirked, giving them a two fingered salute in goodbye.

She had barely made it back into her room when there was a light tapping at her main door. Ignoring her ringing phone, Addie opened it, not surprised to see Elijah. She stepped aside so he could enter. "Thank you for coming," she said stiffly.

He voice was gentle and courteous, "Of course. I figured it must be important if you didn't want to discuss it in front of your sister."

"Elena might-" she paused for a minute to check her phone when it started to ring again. She frowned, looking at Elijah, "Do you mind? It will be brief. If I don't take it, there's a very real chance we could be interrupted and things turn violent."

"We wouldn't want that. You'd best answer," encouraged the vampire.

Addie gave him a small smile before turning away for more privacy and answering, "Damon."

"When you tell me the bad guy is in your house, you answer the phone when I call! I've called you five times. Do you know what I was thinking?! What happened?" he snapped from the other end.

His concern made her smile but she did feel guilty for worrying him. "I'm sorry. I was with Elena and I left my phone in my room. He just _left._ I went back downstairs after talking to you and he was gone. According to Jenna, he was just here for old papers and went."

"You know that was just an excuse to get inside. This is bad. He can come back at any time. None of you are safe," he reminded her.

"Yes, well, we can't just up and move. We can't do anything about it so just drop it. It's twice he's appeared and disappeared. I don't want to worry about it until there is actually something to worry about," Addie said firmly.

Damon scoffed, "You're being dense, Addie. You're scared and you're avoiding the subject like you always do. There _is_ something to worry about."

She pulled the phone away from her and glared at it. "I had far more reason to worry about you," she snapped hanging up on him. Leaving him angry should keep him from coming over that night.

"I didn't take you for the lying type," commented Elijah as she turned back to him.

"I don't. Or at least I try not to. However, it would not be a quick conversation if I told him the truth. No matter what, he wouldn't trust you. Anyways, Elena might be fine not knowing the details of your plan but I'm not fond of being left in the dark. I don't trust if I don't know. If I don't trust you, I don't think it would take much convincing for Elena to go back on her end of the deal," Addie explained calmly.

Elijah frowned, "You don't have to try and manipulate me into telling you my plans. You remind me of someone I was once very close to. We don't have to act on opposing sides. I think you and I could make for very good allies."

It would be advantageous to have an unstoppable vampire on her side but Addie still wasn't sure she trusted him. She countered, "How about we start with some answers about the plan? You drawing Klaus out and killing him, does Elena die?"

"I have to kill Klaus after he has broken the curse," he answered indirectly.

Addie sat on her bed, trying to digest the information. "I'm guessing you don't know a way to bring the dead back to life," she muttered.

"I don't," he admitted, "but I have something that might work."

"Oh?" she speculated, not really believing.

"When Klaus went to perform the ritual 500 years ago, I went to some very powerful witches looking for the same thing you want," Elijah confided.

Her eyes narrowed as she thought, "You wanted to save Katherine."

Elijah smiled slightly and reminded her, "Many men have become the prey of Katerina. The witches crafted me a restorative elixir. As you know, the sacrifice never happened so I never had use for it."

Addie stared at him in amazement, "And you still have it?"

He nodded.

"Do we know if this has a 'best by' date or do we just assume it's going to work even though it's 500 years old?" she questioned.

"We can assume it's like a fine wine and only gets better with age," he suggested.

Addie sighed, "Couldn't we get some new witches to brew up a new magical potion?"

Elijah shook his head, "I'm afraid it's not that simple. These witches practiced a form of magic now long dead. They were powerful enough to be a threat to Klaus' established power. The war between vampires and witches stretches extremely far back in time."

"So my sister's life rests in the fate of a 500 year old elixir," concluded Addie.

"It is more of a chance than if she just hands herself over to Klaus. It is more of a chance than any plan you've had," maintained Elijah.

She stood up and formally extended her hand towards him, "Thank you."

He took it, "I understand the importance of family. Like I said, I expect we will meet again."

Just like that he was gone. Addie looked around her room for any traces showing that he had left but could find any. Not only was he unkillable but he was apparently very fast. Shrugging, she picked up her phone and dropped into bed.

_Addie: Found out why Elijah was here. Elena's made a deal. On the plus side Stefan's getting out of the tomb._

She spent the next hour working on her Latin homework, noticing Damon had texted her back by the time she had finished.

**Damon: Brilliant. Just brilliant. We lock her in the house and she still manages a way to get herself killed. At least we don't have to worry about Stefan but if he can get out that means that Katherine can get out. Stefan locked in the tomb is less of a problem than her out. One solution, two new problems. At least we (vampires) don't have to fear werewolves. The bite just heals.**

_Addie: What?! You got bit? Tyler got loose?_

**Damon: Not Tyler. Some she-wolf came to town looking for Mason Lockwood and he's been declared a missing person.**

_Addie: Dear God. Tell me you weren't stupid enough to pick a fight with a werewolf on the one night of the month you're going to lose. You asked to get bit! You're lucky it's not fatal otherwise I'd be over there to kill you myself for being so arrogant!_

**Damon: I wasn't being arrogant! And, hey, I won the fight. I stabbed a sword through her side and she ran off. I mean, I have to get a new window for the living room but she came to kill me and she didn't. And I didn't get bit.**

_Addie: If you didn't get bit how do you know it's not fatal?_

**Damon: Well, she-wolf missed me but she got Rose in the shoulder pretty well**

She nearly dropped her phone. Rose was back at the boarding house with Damon. That was not something she was prepared for.

_Addie: Rose is back?_

**Damon: Yep. Surprised me, too.**

_Addie: Is that awkward?_

**Damon: A little. I mean, she ran out on you and Elena**

_Addie: Not exactly what I meant_

**Damon: Oh, because of the sex? No**

_Addie: I'm allowed to not be thrilled about this._

Tossing her phone on her bed, Addie decided to shower and get ready for bed. She had planned on going up to the attic and working on her music but finding out Rose was back in town seemed to have zapped her of any motivation. It wasn't that she didn't trust Damon; Addie was pretty certain that he wouldn't be stupid enough to sleep with Rose. The idea of a woman living with him that knew him in a more intimate way than she did was just unsettling, especially because she was sure that the female vampire was actually one of the few people cold, calculating Damon cared about. It would require a connection for someone to convince Damon to stop caring about her long enough to have sex with her; that or he had her really fooled about how much he cared for her. Plus, even if it was just physical, Rose was there for him when he thought things were over between them. If he didn't care about Rose, he would have killed her for running out when Elijah showed up and then having the nerve to show back up at his house.

The toothbrush rubbed against her teeth more vigorously as she couldn't get the idea of Rose staying with him out of her head. The toothpaste flew from her mouth and into the sink and her mouth was rinsed out, first with water then with mouth wash. Back in the bedroom Addie saw a light flashing on her cell, indicative of a new text message. With reluctance, she picked it up to check it. As expected, it was from Damon; Addie didn't particularly feel like getting into a fight with him over Rose. Looking like the over jealous, over reactive girlfriend seemed childish.

Disabling the notification and ignoring him may have been childish as well but she preferred to not confront him over this. Addie didn't like to get involved in fights she wasn't sure she could win. As it was, whether or not she had a right to be annoyed about Rose being back in the picture she was uncertain so she could definitely not defend herself if they argued about this. Addie plugged the phone into the charger and crawled into bed; Damon could wait until morning. Perhaps an inspirational argument would make its way into her dreams.

* * *

It had occurred to her around the beginning of the third hour of track practice for the day that avoiding Damon until she figured out a logical, solid argument that didn't sound like she was just envious and insecure about being upset over Rose being back at the boarding house was not a practical option. It was possible that she would never come across one. Besides, the last time Addie had ignored Damon, Rose was his solution. After practice she decided to address the situation with her… relationship partner. First, though, Caroline had cornered her coming out of the locker rooms and Addie had to talk her way out of helping the perky, neurotic blonde preparing for the Booster Club Barbecue. Caroline threatened that she would make Addie regret having lied to her about having a horrible migraine so debilitating that Addie couldn't help if the vampire caught the younger girl at the fundraiser confirmed that Addie would be staying in for the night, not that she had even wanted to attend. School social functions were Elena's thing, not her little sister's.

Half Addie's trek home was completed by the time she remember to check Damon's text from the night before.

**Damon: You will be thrilled to know that I was wrong. It seems that the bite is fatal. The flesh where she was bitten is an open wound. Around its are nasty looking blisters. Surrounding veins and tissue looks dead.**

She frowned; that did not sound good. That was actually bad. Very, very bad. Addie couldn't imagine Damon handling the loss of someone he cared about very well. Especially since Jules had been going for him. Rose's death would be his guilty burden. As cold and evil he could be, Damon still cared; guilt had caused him to shut him to shut off his humanity but it had been so strong and overpowering that it forced his humanity back on.

_Addie: I'm not her biggest fan but I'm not thrilled about her dying. I'm never thrilled about death. Besides, this means that werewolves remain a concern once a month. Damon, I am so sorry._

The attic, her lair, was where she retreated to for the rest of the day. A lot of progress was made on several songs as her music proved to be a good distraction from waiting for a response from Damon. She had sent him a couple of texts throughout the evening and into the early hours of night inquiring about Rose's health but he never replied. Two o'clock in the morning rolled around and Addie gave up on expecting to hear from him. This loss of interest in Damon re-energized her, it awoke a muse that drove her into working until the rays of morning poured in through the window. It was seven before she noticed the time again.

Addie groaned; her alarm would start going off in an hour and she would have to get ready for school. What she could only describe as a "high" flowed through her from completing a song she was really proud of. That feeling refused to be squandered on sleep. Just sitting at her laptop doing nothing was making her jittery. Was it possible to get this "high" higher? What would happen if she mixed this feeling with the endorphins she got from sprints? Mesmerized by the idea, the clothes from the previous day were replaced with old running shorts and a Mystic Falls Middle School Track &amp; Field t-shirt.

The paper lay on the doormat when she opened the door to head out. Addie meant to just toss it on the couch but the headline caught her eye, making her high tumble down as pieces fell together, though the puzzle wasn't quite complete; she was missing pieces. The paper went where she had initially intended and before she knew it her feet took her down a well known path. Her pace alternated between controlled, steady and fast, the brisk morning air breaking against her face. She ended up on the Salvatore's welcome mat, their morning edition in hand.

Lightly, Addie knocked at the door. In a few moments, Stefan opened it, looking fresh and ready for the day. His head tilted in confusion but he smiled at her, "Good morning, Addie. I'm sorry I didn't catch you sooner. I hear I should be thanking you for freeing me from the tomb. So, thank you. I'm very grateful. I owe you one."

She shook her head and answered, slightly winded, "Consider not hating me for anything Katherine does now that she's free, too."

"You didn't hear? Katherine's still in the tomb. Elijah compelled her to stay until he said otherwise."

'"What? How? A vampire can't compel another vampire, right?" Addie questioned in disbelief.

Stefan nodded, "That's usually how it works but Elijah certainly compelled Katherine. We're thinking it must be because he's an original so he's just stronger."

"That is very unsettling," she muttered, pushing past him and into the house. "I need to talk to your brother; it's… well, I ran over here at seven in the morning."

He caught her at the elbow, halfway up the stairs, "Damon's not - I don't think that he's in the best place for important talks at the moment."

It took very little effort for her to lift his hand from her arm. She held up the rolled up newspaper, "I know. I wouldn't be doing this unless I felt I needed to, Stefan. It might not be a good time but I _have _to talk to him."

A short internal debate over whether to knock on Damon's door or to just enter waged in Addie's mind. She twisted the doorknob slowly and silently opened the door, slipping in when the gap was just wide enough. However, he wasn't asleep in bed like she expected and the shower was running. The foot of the bed bounced slightly as she flopped backwards onto it with a sigh. The newspaper unrolled when Addie removed the rubber band around it. Her eyes scanned the article for key information. Three dead at the Booster Club Barbeque. No culprit. A 25 year old girl reported missing early this morning, car found abandoned along the side of the road. Thinking possibly same culprit.

Something said from the television hanging in the corner caught her attention, "The authorities believe last night's assailant may also be related to the missing campers and park ranger who have been missing for two days, as well as 25 year old Jessica Koenig, reported missing this morning. The sheriff's department says investigations are pending and no further comment will be made."

The campers and park ranger were added to her list of victims as she dropped her head back onto the bed and covered her face with the newspaper. A minutes later the shower was shut off.

Damon's voice tinged with anger drifted to her a few moments later, "Who let you in? You shouldn't be here."

"Good morning to you, too," she replied sweetly, the paper muffling her voice.

The sound of cawing birds and crashing waves filled the room.

"What are you doing here?"

Addie smiled slightly, "I can't believe you actually bought a sound machine that replicates the ocean."

"Yeah, well, you wanted it," he grumbled. over the scrapping of opening and closing doors."

"I didn't expect - I wasn't - Thank you," she finally decided, touched that he had done that for her.

"Why are you here, Addie?" demanded Damon.

Cautiously, Addie moved the paper and peeked at him. His fingers fumbled at the zipper of his jeans. Her deep blue eyes rolled when she sat up and held the paper out to him. She grinned, "I came to congratulate you, of course. You made the front page. You just missed them mentioning you on the news."

He had snatched the newspaper from her and quickly scanned it. The paper was tossed back onto the bed before she even finished talking. Damon looked at her coldly, "Why would you think I had anything to do with that?"

Addie got up, went to him and took his hands in her. Her voice and eyes were gentle and soft, "Because I know you."

His arms crossed against his chest, water droplets still clinging to it. Damon scowled, "Obviously, you don't. That's not my handiwork."

"I don't know why I think I can trust you. I know you're guilty of at least," Addie paused to go back to the bed and searched for the name, "Jessica Koenig. The other three may or may not be you. I wouldn't know since you wouldn't talk to me yesterday. I'm leaning more towards not since they were early in the night, in an extremely public area, and three people. You're capable of it but I don't see you going on a murderous rampage right now, at least not one where you don't cover your tracks, since you're keeping a low profile. My guess is something really nasty happened because of that bite. Jessica, though, she came across you in the street like I did last summer but wasn't as lucky. You took her body _since you're keeping a low profile_; it would have been easy to identify as having been attacked by a vampire. The simplest thing to do was to leave her car on the side of the road. You wouldn't leave anything that traces back to you. The question I don't know? Why you would you do it now? Why half-ass covering it?"

He leaned against his dresser, rolling his eyes, "What do you want me to do? Apologize? That's not happening."

She scoffed, "You're too proud to even acknowledge and apologize to me for lying?"

"i basically did just acknowledge I was lying. I'm not going to apologize to you because that would be a lie. I'm not sorry; I didn't want you doing _this_, questioning what I did and why," snapped Damon.

Addie glared at him, "Fine. If you don't want to address it, I will. You acted out because you hurt. You don't want to admit that Rose was your friend and you cared for her. Her death hurt you. So, you went and did something stupid, like you always do when you hurt."

"You're wrong. Vampires die sometimes; I was over her before I even finished burying her."

"Then why did you do it?" she challenged, not believing him.

Damon shrugged, "I wanted to, plain and simple."

"This is never going to work if you just lie to me about everything."

"You should go. You need to get home and still get ready for school."

Addie huffed, "So, that's just how we're going to do this? You just want to lie to me and not discuss something that is clearly bothering and I pretend everything's ok? And don't say nothing's bothering you. If that was the case, you would have gotten rid of Jessica's car."

They stared at each other, each waiting for the other to back down. After 20 minutes of frosty eye contact, Damon caved. He ran his hand through his hair. Damn; it was drying kind of curly again. He'd been too busy with Addie to set it right. He grimaced, "You're gonna have to miss class if you really want to find out."

"Why?"

"Field trip is required for me to share any information," he smirked, knowing she wouldn't go for it.

"It's your lucky day. I have absolutely nothing important happening in any of today's classes. I just have to wait for my house to clear out so I can shower and change."

Damon pulled the second drawer down in his dresser, filled with her clothes, and raised a challenging eyebrow, "Shall I get you a towel?"

"Your bathroom doesn't have a door," she pointed out.

He rolled his eyes and left the room, coming back with two large, fluffy towel. He pushed them into her hands and smirked, "I'll be downstairs."

* * *

When Addie came down, Damon was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with two travel mugs and his keys. He passed her one of the capped cups and held open the door. The passenger door was opened by Damon before he got behind the wheel. His body language suggested he wasn't in a very chatty mood so Addie followed his lead and kept silent.

The path they were on seemed vaguely familiar. Staggering white rocks and a thinning of trees told her they were at Steven's Quarry. Addie had never traveled so far down the road they were on. Trees began appearing closer together and she figured they must have passed the quarry until they spaced out again and she saw that they were on the opposite side. With a foot easing at the brake, the car rolled to a stop. Damon shifted into park and got, taking the other travel mug with him. Following his example, Addie was surprised to see him rooting around in the boot of the car. He pulled out what looked like a rolled up blanket and tucked it under his arm and slammed the lid closed.

Addie followed him into the trees and out to where the land cleared into lush, green grass on the bank of the quarry. The blanket was laid out under the shade of a tree just a few feet from the water, resting on a gently sloping hill. Damon laid out and looked up at the sun while Addie sat cross legged next to him. After checking her phone every ten minutes for an hour, her patience was almost non existent.

"Why are we here, Damon? I thought we were going to talk. I don't see why we had to come here to do that. Oh and in case you haven't noticed, _you're not talking_!" she snapped.

He sighed and shifted around until his head was in her lap, "Nostalgia, Ads. It's been 145 years since I've been here."

She played at his hair for a few minutes, waiting for him to continue. When he did she pressed, "Why were you last here?"

"To die," he answered flatly, his eyes closed. "In this exact spot, to be precise."

"But you ended up turning," Addie filled in.

Damon nodded, "In the heat of the moment. My little brother was facing eternity alone and he had literally shoved the blood right under my nose. At that point the bloodlust was so overwhelming that it seemed to consume me. For just a split second I wanted the blood more than I wanted to die and it happened."

A crease had formed in her brown, which she rubbed at until his face relaxed again. She wasn't sure if she was suppose to ask him for more or if he would just tell her in his own time. Settling on a neutral answer, she told him, "I'm listening."

Damon pushed himself up on his elbows and reached for his travel mug, taking a long sip. The scent of alcohol and coffee drifted to her when he settled back in her lap.

"It's a little early to start drinking, don't you think?"

"Is it early if you haven't slept or or is it extremely late? Besides, it's a little late for the reprimand. I've been buzzing since before you showed up and haven't stopped. You just couldn't tell because I brushed my teeth right before I showered and a nasty mix of several mints and lots of coffee right before you were ready," he informed her.

She frowned; it wasn't like him to hide his drinking. "Why bother with the mints and coffee?"

His eyes were still closed but he raised an eyebrow, which she saw upside down. From that viewpoint she couldn't make out his intent. "Because you wouldn't have gotten in a car with me, despite the fact that, even buzzed, my reaction times, perception, and everything else I need for driving are still better than a sober human's."

"I'll skip giving my opinion on the matter to simply avoid the fight right now."

"Appreciated," he smirked. He was quiet for a few more minutes before he continued his tale, "After I turned, Emily Bennett told me Katherine was in the tomb and hadn't actually died. At that point I decided I would just reunite with her instead of dying. You know the story from there."

"I don't understand. What's bothering you?" questioned Addie gently, taking a drink of her own coffee, surprised it was still hot. Her fingers tangled and weaved in his shiny raven locks.

Damon dragged his hands over his face and kept them there, "I've been a vampire for over 145 years. Never aging, never changing. Frozen. Stuck in a life I will never finish. It _sucks_ to feel everything so intently for _so_ long. It's tiring."

His hands trembled slightly as she rubbed at them and his forearms and trying to get him to uncover his face but he refused. Her words were cautious, "Damon, are you having a century and a half vampire life crisis?"

"I don't know," he muttered. "I don't think such a thing exist."

She hesitated, afraid of angering him, "An identity crisis?"

"It's possible."

Addie squeezed at his hands. Pressed hard to his face, they shook harder than before. "Tell me what's really wrong."

He shrugged, his shoulders bumping into her knees. His voice cracked, "I miss it, Addie. I miss everything before _this._ I miss the pain being a ten instead of a one hundred. I miss not loving so hard; it brings nothing but trouble. I miss every day being a gift because I'm _not_ going to live forever. I miss everything I did having meaning and purpose rather than just being aimless. I miss not always fighting this urge to kill someone. I miss the idea of _home_ instead of having to move before anyone notices I'm not aging. I miss having a future full of endless possibilities, of a family, of a death at the end of a long life. I miss being human, Ads."

Her hands hooked under his armpits and an lifted him up enough so she could scoot up behind him and his head rested on her shoulder when she went to lay him back down. Damon was just limp, dead weight, letting her manipulate him like a doll while he kept his face tucked in his hands. One arm wrapped around his waist tightly while the other one stroked at his hair. Eventually, he uncovered his face and turned his head to bury it in her neck. His hands felt slightly damp when he grabbed hers from his waist and rested it over his heart. Addie felt something wet drop onto her neck and roll down her neck.

* * *

**A/N: This story is being put on hiatus until I feel like writing for just a few people. This was started as a terminally ill wish for a loved one who has since passed on, leaving me with little to no purpose behind this. I know how it plays out; I don't need to write it out. **


	28. Chapter 31

Damon rested back silently against Addie with his face nuzzled in the warm, safe crook where her neck and shoulder met for what to he guessed to be about two hours. He managed to hold back all but two more tears. It was soothing; one hand stroking at his hair and the other at his chest. At some point she had flicked open the top two buttons of his shirt. The soft tracing of her nails around his heart made it beat harder, faster. The situation was too nice, too comfortable to last. It didn't make sense. He shouldn't feel so at peace with Addie when she was causing him such internal turmoil. Damon had always been happy being a vampire before; how could this girl have him missing being human? He had no idea who he truly was when he was mortal. It wasn't until he found the strength and power that came with being a vampire that Damon had discovered what he was really like.

Addie was taken by surprise when Damon abruptly pulled away from her and flung himself onto his stomach and buried his face into his crossed arms. She raked her hand through her hair, trying to figure out what to say. She wanted to make a witty remark about how Damon was better as a vampire or pointing out how miserable being a human was but Addie didn't that would go over very well with Damon. Unfortunately, last time she checked, she hadn't read _What to do When Your Vampire Breaks _or seen any copies of _Chicken Soup for the Lost Vampire's Soul._ Every way Damon ever portrayed himself made it seem like he not only enjoyed being a vampire; he embraced it more than he ever had being human.

Deciding to go with action rather than words, she decided to do what relaxed her. Addie straddled Damon's back and rested her weight on her knees and his backside.

"What are you doooo…," Damon trailed off and into a groan as the heels of Addie's hands firmly pressed into the muscles outlining his scapulas.

Thumbs rubbed in firm circles on either side of his spine as she started at the base and worked her way to his neck. Her fingers dug into his scrunched up shoulders, encouraging him to widen and relax his arms. His partially open shirt let her pull his collar away from the bottom of his neck and she pressed a soft kiss to the side. "You're tense," Addie noted in a whisper, sitting back and continuing to massage his back.

Damon laughed bitterly, his face still covered by his arms. His voice cracked when she found a knot between his shoulder blade and neck, "You're not wrong." He let her work at his stiff muscles before reaching back and grabbing her hands, tugging her down against him. When her face was next to his, he pressed a kiss against a her cheek. Damon let his lips linger at the corner of his mouth as he praised, "That was great. Thank you." His arms went back to cushion his forehead as he faced the ground.

Addie threw her leg back to the other side and got off of him before she laid perpendicular to Damon, using his back as a pillow. The gentle breeze blew the willowing branches of the tree over them in a hypnotizing motion. It was Damon becoming restless and repetitively pushing at the ground with the toe of one shoe, making himself shift up and down slightly that broke Addie from her reverie.

Time didn't seem to have passed in quantifiable measures but the movement of the sun had indicated she'd been in a trace for awhile. She still didn't know what to say to him, even less now that he was… well, she wasn't quite sure what the turning onto his stomach and covering his face had indicated. Maybe if she could just distract him from his despair of missing being human long enough he would break out of his silence and give her some indication of what to do. But what would be strong enough to distract him?

The iPod she constantly carried in her pocket suddenly felt like a lead weight. Sharing her music with him wasn't necessarily a good idea. It was such a private and personal thing that she wasn't sure she wanted Damon to see that side of her; to be that vulnerable with him. Though he had really opened up with her and she felt obligated to do the same with him. Hesitantly she began to pull at the music player when her other pocket began to vibrate. Addie pulled out her cellphone, intending to just silence it when Damon spoke.

"You should answer it. The Scooby-doo Gang has probably figured out you're not at school by now. It wouldn't do for them to think you've gone missing," he muttered, his voice muffled from looking towards the ground.

Irritation filled Addie when she read the caller ID. Of course her sister would interrupt her time with Damon. "I hate when you're right," she mumbled before answering the call. "What can I do for you?"

"Where are you?" demanded Elena.

"Lost in the woods," Addie smirked to herself. It wasn't technically a lie; they were in a clearing in the woods and she wouldn't have necessarily been able to find her way home if she had to.

Elena's eye roll was easily imagined and annoyance could be heard in her voice, "How are you lost in the woods?"

"Well, I was up early this morning so I decided to go for a run and well, I ended up lost in the woods." It still wasn't a lie; just an omission of the truth.

Elena huffed, "Didn't you pay attention to where you were going?"

She decided to see how far she could go without telling a lie. An indirect answer was a simple solution. "I had a lot on my mind."

"Do I need to ask Stefan or Damon to try and find you?"

"Stefan has class. Damon and I aren't really talking. It's not a big deal, Elena. I'm a big girl. I'm sure I'll find my way back home before I get eaten by a bear," placated Addie sarcastically.

"Everything isn't a joke, Addie," scolded Elena. "You could get hurt. Not to mention you missed school."

School was, for once, the furthest thing from her mind; she felt like she had much bigger problems to deal with at the moment. Addie snorted, "You have no idea how much I needed a mental health day. I will be safe. If something happens or it gets too late, I have a magical device called a cell that lets me call for help. Unfortunately my lame sister is draining the battery, meaning it may be dead in case of an emergency."

The school bell rang in the background and Elena huffed in testily, "Alright, fine. Hey! Before I go, did you run into Uncle John at the house when you left?"

Her brows furrowed and she sat up as she reflected on this new information, "Uncle John is back?"

"Yeah, Stefan reached out to Isobel for help about this whole sun and moon thing but ended up getting John instead, He took it upon himself to invite him here. This morning he dropped it on Jenna that he's my biological father. Oh, the best part? He says he's here to protect me and 'that's all he can say for the moment.'"

"You doubt that? Uncle John hates vampires and you're boyfriend threatened to turn him into one if he didn't leave town. It's odd that he would come back for any other reason, even if said boyfriend did ask for help. Plus, I'm sure Damon wants to kill him for tossing him into the basement with the tomb vampires. Uncle John isn't stupid; he wouldn't come if he didn't have a good reason," Addie rationalized over her sister's huffing and puffing. "We've always had different opinions on him. Don't think that just because I'm supporting you in this deal with Elijah and everything that I suddenly agree with you. We're still the same people, Elena. We don't get along. Seriously, I've put up with your fake niceness for the past few weeks, particularly about Damon, but I'm tired of it. It's not believable when you make snide comments under your breath. If we're going through with this deal or pact or whatever Elijah has planned, we're doing it honestly."

Without giving her sister a chance to respond, Addie hung up the phone and laid back down, surprised when her head landed on Damon's stomach. Glad that he wasn't still burying his face in his arms she turned her head to look at him and smile. His arm was slung over his face, covering his eyes. Her lips changed into a frown; this wasn't exactly much of an improvement.

"I'm guessing you would be upset if I killed Daddy Gilbert?" grumbled Damon.

She closed her eyes in exasperation, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her eyelids. "I'm not upset over one murder but two in as many days might push my limit," scoffed Addie. "Please, Damon, play nice with my uncle."

"So you can work with him to barbecue me again? I don't think so," he growled, running his fingers through her hair, the sun highlighting the red undertones.

The back of her hand smacked lightly against his thigh. "I _did _change my mind," she reminded him defensively.

"After the room I was in was set on fire."

"Hey!" Addie snapped. "I care about you. I ran into a burning building to save your ass and I don't have any advantages like super speed or strength."

Damon waved a hand dismissively, "Guilty conscience."

She snorted, "Oh, yeah, totally. I had a guilty conscience about killing a serial killing vampire."

He didn't have a response for that so he changed tracks, "Why is John here?"

"To do the same damn thing as everyone else: protect Elena."

"_A_: That is most definitely not why he's here. _B_: Someone has to. You're too busy brokering deals with an untrusty Original and agreeing to stupid things. _C_: You sound pretty damn bitter about people wanting to save your sister's life," Damon listed off flatly, ticking each point off on a finger

Addie shrugged, "_A_: Why else would he come back to town? You heard me on the phone. He's here to protect his daughter. _B_: _I_ did not agree to anything; Elena did. All I did was see an opportunity to solve one of our problems about getting Stefan out of the tomb and I went for it. _C_: People should stop trying before someone gets hurt. Elijah has agreed to keep everyone safe."

"_A_: He's up to something; John's always up to something. _B_: That would have been some decent brokering if Elijah could be trusted. _C_: You are naive if you actually trust that vampire."

"I'm done with _A._ I'm not going to argue with you about my uncle. He's can be a jerk but he's a good guy. All he has ever done has been to protect my family. Sorry if you don't agree with him for seeing you as a danger. Ignoring _B _since it is pointless. _C_: I don't necessarily trust him. On the off chance that we can, though, it seems like a wise idea to have an unkillable ancient vampire with connections on our side. I'm not trying to convince you to feel the same way as I do. You feel however you want, Damon. We're not going to agree about everything," she sighed, not looking for a fight.

He shook his head, running the hand not playing with her hair over his face. Damon knew she was right and usually he would be continue to argue with her over John's intentions and trusting Elijah but he just didn't have the energy. He yielded and backed down, "You're right; we're not."

They lapsed back into a silence. When his hand would grip tighter in her hair, Addie couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. With his cheek pressed to the ground, she couldn't read his facial expression from resting on his stomach but she was able to tell that his jaw was clenching and unclenching. She couldn't help but wonder if he was reacting to her chat with Elena or his own existential crisis.

"What are you thinking about?"

Damon looked up to the sky and covered his face with both hands, his voice coming out muffled, "You said you're not upset. You should be furious with me."

"I've been thinking about that and I know I _should_ be mad at you for killing someone," Addie mulled over, staring blankly out across the lake, "but I can't find it in me to be upset with you. That probably makes me an awful person, not being angry at the man who committed a cold-blooded murder of an innocent young woman. I know it makes me awful, actually, because I feel disgusted with myself. I knew you came with your flaws and, unfortunately, the fact that you enjoy killing people is one of them. I'm not exactly happy about it but it's not like I can change who you are."

"That's stupid," he said gruffly, his voice blocked by his hands.

Addie closed her eyes and tried not to get frustrated with him. The fact that her temper was shortened due to her suppressing her own anger at herself for not being able to be angry with him. He had ended a young woman's life full of the human possibilities he claimed to miss. Just because he had been denied those things didn't make it acceptable for him to deny others. Not being upset was akin to a stamp of approval! Even when she first read the headline and connected it with Damon Addie didn't feel a flicker of anger towards him. She tried to feel shocked or disappointed by his actions but that meant having expectations of him and she was forced to face that she really didn't have any. Caring for someone who was so intense, reckless, volatile without expectations was dangerous. That she could feel nothing but sad for him was concerning. Addie thought she had a better control over her feelings. If someone had asked her the previous day whether or not she would be mad at him if he murder someone like he had the answer would have been an easy 'yes.' But now, she wasn't sure just how far he'd have to go to make her angry, to disappoint her. More unsettling was the question of what would it take for her to stop caring about him?

She had considered pretending to be angry with him but she she just couldn't rationalize it. Addie sighed and asked Damon the same ones she had asked herself, "What is being mad at you going to accomplish? Are you suddenly going to become a different, more moral guy? Will it bring that girl back to life? Are you going to learn some lesson and not do it again? No; I'm not going to be upset with you when it's going to do anything but make us fight over something that isn't going to change. To be angry with you about who you are would just be stupid. Not being furious with you because I care about you and don't want to pick an argument about something pointless is stupid to you? Why should I bother being with you if I can't accept you? If I'm just going to be continually pissed everytime I think you do something irrationation or that I don't agree with?

"Besides, you killing someone and not completely covering it up here and now just doesn't fit with the agenda you claim to have, which I'm trusting to be true. That makes what you did a bright, reflective, yellow warning sign for something being wrong with you. Why would you risk the Council starting to believe that vampires are back in town? _You_ wouldn't, at least not if you were thinking rationally. However, irrational _you_ tends to make an appearance when you become very upset. Ripping Bonnie's throat out after Emily destroyed the crystal, killing my brother after Katherine admitted to using you and Elena rejected you, killing Alaric after he tried to kill me; it's an exhaustive list of your finest hits. You act unphased, cold, and detached but when you get mad or hurt, you have a tendency towards acting out. It's like the two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum because he can't express how he feels when it's cleanup time," she explained, constantly waiting for him to snap back. Addie knew she was pushing things a little far when she compared him to a toddler.

Damon rubbed at his face to wipe any traces of emotion. He massaged at his temples, feeling a stress induced headache coming on. This wasn't right; she shouldn't be able to read him so well. Addie shouldn't be able to rationalize and understand things about him that it had taken him 70 to 80 years to figure out. Yet, it was his fault that she could; he had invited her to get to know him in deeper ways than he had ever let anyone before. He was the one who kept sharing about himself and his past unprompted. Damon did what he did best and deflected Addie from her real point, "Ric was completely justifiable; that was self defense and revenge for him hurting you. Besides, I'd be furious with you if you killed someone for no good reason."

"I'm not even going to argue how much of a double standard that is because I don't see the point of both of us getting pissed off over a hypothetical," Addie grounded out through gritted teeth. "Typically, when I get upset the only person that gets hurt is myself."

Damon tucked one arm back under his head so he could see her better "Yeah, that makes me even angrier. And," he scowled, picking up her left arm and holding it over her face, "I've notice."

The strip of skin about a centimeter wide and roughly and inch and a half to two inches long that had faded to just a few shades darker than the lightly sun-kissed skin of her inner forearm glared mockingly at her. Addie wrenched her arm out of his gentle hold and sniffed, "_That_ is none of your business."

"You are so good at sharing about yourself," he snipped sarcastically, tucking his other arm behind his head as well.

Addie had to admit that he was right. It couldn't have been easy for someone as guarded as Damon to tell her what he had this morning. She suspected she did owe him one. Wasn't that the whole point of them agreeing to tryout a relationship, to get to know each other better? For a moment she hesitated, "It was a one time thing; it's not like I cut myself or anything. Usually, I'm able to control my anxiety. It never really got bad enough that I started having panic attacks and needed medication until after the accident with my parents when I started seeing everything as a threatening situation. Back in middle school, we'd have to travel for up to five or six hours on a bus for a track meet. Between pre-race jitters and being stuck with my teammates, forced to converse for that long, I was a bundle of nerves. Track is a solo sport, I mean, unless it is to pass off a baton, which was why I picked it. I liked soccer better but that required too much team playing and communicating with others.

"Anyways, my way of dealing with the anxiety was to just listen to my music. People tend to get the message that you don't want to talk when you have earbuds stuck in. One meet, my iPod was stuck into my backpack instead of my gym bag that morning. I already felt anxious and naked without it; I always carry my iPod with me. Add in the stress of the race and I was on edge. Teamembers kept asking me questions and trying to draw me into conversations and it was just too much negative, jittery energy. I wasn't even aware that I was scratching at my arm until we got to the meet and it was rubbed raw. There was a really thin, shallow line of blood. Stupid accident scarred way worse than I thought it would. A little bit of fading has occurred over the years but obviously not enough," she finished bitterly.

Damon skeptically inquired, "Isolated incident?"

"Yep. Well, mostly. I've caught myself doing it one or two times in really bad social anxiety inducing situations when I was already under a lot of stress or pressure. Like when everyone showed up at our house after the funeral service for my parents. I got out of going to the memorial and burial but Jenna demanded I make a short appearance for the reception," admitted Addie.

"You didn't go to your own parents' funeral?"

"Yeah, no. I, uh, I didn't handle their deaths very well. When we first met, that was me doing good. Plus, at that point I was still really, really, really pissed off at Elena, blaming her for the accident. Us in the same room was an extremely nasty mixture. Jeremy and I have gotten into physical fights since we were little. As much as she annoys the hell out of me and I her, it never got physical until a week after my parents died. I'm proud to say I did _not_ throw the first blow, I restrained myself enough to _not _try and rearrange her face or really hurt her since she was a little banged up from the accident, and I was _not_ the one who tried to strangle the other. Of course she didn't get very far with _that_. At that point I decided it was enough and I hit her just hard enough to bust her lip. Blood was going to be the only thing that stopped her. The girl sucks at it but when Elena fights, it hardy and dirty. Her nails are way worse than Jeremy's fists."

"Doesn't surprise me. Catty girl, Katherine's genes… She'd obviously throw the first punch; your better at controlling your anger and you'd think it pointless because you would obviously win. Fit runner versus willowy cheerleader; it's a no brainer. What does surprise me is that you guys made it through so many years without a physical fight," His hand went back to playing with her hair as he voice became quieter, gentler, "Do you regret it? Not going?"

"No," she answered after a moment of thought. "I didn't need to hear people speak about my parents as if they knew them when they never knew what they were like at home, out of the office, not presenting themselves to others. I already knew how good and amazing my parents were but I also felt a need to acknowledge the not so good parts that were hidden behind the fake smiles on the family Christmas cards. It just wouldn't have benefitted me to go. Besides, both my siblings gave speeches and I would have been expected to, as well. I was still too angry and emotional that anything I came up with would have been wholly inappropriate. And I am mortified of public speaking.

"Yeah, no, I think forever deleting family photos that were as old as digital cameras was far more therapeutic. Don't regret that choice at all!" she beamed sarcastically. "No photos containing me older than at about age 5 and Elena exist. Birthdays, vacations, Christmases, I deleted any photos with my sister in them off the only space they were stored: my dad's laptop. Saved the ones of Jer, Mom, Dad, and me on a memory stick and then smashed the computer for good measure. Jenna was so pissed when she found it that night in my parents' room. When Elena saw it she flipped because she actually knew what was on it. The look on her face when I told her I saved the pictures of everyone else… She's always going to hate me for that and I don't blame her; I hate a part of myself for what I did that day. We got into the fight the next day," Addie finished lamely, staring at her hands.

"When I was 15 I missed my mother's funeral because I didn't - I couldn't write the eulogy I was suppose to give. Eventually, I decided I was going to come up with it on the spot. I got dressed. Went in to help Stefan with either his tie or bowtie," Damon shook his head, trying to clear it, "I'm unable to remember which. I can't recall any of it perfectly since I had repressed the memory for so long when I turned that it will forever remain fuzzy. My father had told him that he was not to cry because Salvatores or men don't cry. Stefan was just a little kid; he hadn't even grown into himself yet and was all soft with baby fat. He was just a little boy who'd lost his mother; it was ok for him to cry. That's what I told him: he was a kid and if he felt the need to cry he should because it was ok for kids to cry." Damon scoffed bitterly, "You'd never think we were like that based on how we are now. Stefan told me that our mother had came and visited him as an angel the night before and told him that everything was going to be alright or some other platitude. I remember feeling so jealous of him. I knew he just imagined it or it was a dream but I was envious. Why hadn't she visited me, too? It was complete nonsense and utterly stupid.

"That was when the finality of it all hit me. You know, you're upset when they die but then there's this tsunami that comes crashing down and you realize that they are really _gone_ and you'll never see them again. Kind of like how the shoreline draws way further out and you're kind of numb at first but then the tsunami crashes and reality comes flooding in with an emotional overload. Stefan's stupid angel triggered my tsunami. When the moment came to give my eulogy, I couldn't do it. I skipped the funeral and got shit-face wasted for the first time. The rest of the day is a complete blackout but apparently one of my father's servant had to carry me home after finding me at the back of the church. Looking back, that was probably the start of a very bad coping mechanism," Damon confessed quietly, making sure his last sentence was light and airy before things became too macabrely depressing.

Addie reached up and pulled his hand from her hair and interlocked their fingers and gently squeezed. "I'm so sorry, Damon. I didn't know your mom died when you were so young."

"I was older than you," he countered.

"True," Addie stretched out awkwardly. His vampire years aside, the age gap between her and Damon had been weighing on her mind more and more lately. It didn't bother her but it could be problematic; she didn't like having to watch how much time she spent with him to avoid making Jenna suspicious. "How dangerous would it be to get Jenna off of vervain just long enough for you to compel her?"

"Seriously, Addie? Do you not get how random you are? You make it impossible to follow a conversation," Damon complained. If she looked, his endearing smile would have been caught. "You and I probably have different opinions about that. With Elijah running around, I think it would be a very stupid and dangerous move, whatever the reason. Last time she was off vervain she stabbed herself in the gut and almost bled out. Why do you ask?"

She rolled her eyes at his tendency for dramatics, "It doesn't matter if you think any reason wouldn't be worth the risk."

"No but you have me intrigued. What could possibly be so important to you that you would even consider the risk of getting Jenna off vervain for me to compel her? And what could it be that you would think I would even agree to compel her about?" speculated Damon.

"Jenna's with Alaric and playing hostess to Elijah for his book writing cover. You being you means you'll be around Jenna since she'll be around those two, probably. I want to be around you. She might find it a little odd if I start following her around to everywhere you'll be and even then I'd just be around you. It wouldn't be like we could hold hands or anything. Jenna's barely coming around to liking you since she saw you kiss who she thought was Elena. According to her I'm not allowed to date anyone old enough to drive. I'll leave you to imagine how bad she would freak out if she even sensed something between us. I was hoping you would compel her to be indifferent to the idea of us," Addie explained, blushing.

His thumb drifted in lazy circles on the back of her hand as he thought about what she wanted. Jenna didn't always join Ric when they hung out, or more accurately drank and plotted together but when she did catch up with them at the grill or he couldn't ditch her, Damon was guaranteed a boring time. At least if Addie was there, he'd have someone who found equally hilarity and repulsion at their gushing over each other and lame inside jokes. Although, he did intend to get to know Elijah better, even if that meant having to use Jenna's connection with him to get to him. He wasn't particularly fond of the idea of Addie around the Original, especially since he suspected she trusted him, and undoubtedly she felt the same way about him. His eyes narrowed as he accused, "This isn't about us being together more. It's you wanting to babysit me."

"No, it's not!" she replied defensively. "I couldn't babysit you even if I wanted to. I can't watch your every move and try and talk you out of doing something stupid at every single turn. You're going to do whatever you want, regardless of my opinion. And frankly, I don't _really_ care about what you do unless it's something that's going to get you or someone else I care about hurt. If you don't remember, I don't want to be involved in this supernatural world of curses and rituals. I helped out my sister a time or two but that's doesn't mean I want to dive right into the world of things that go bump in the night, unlike every other idiot in this town."

"You're being very defensive for a girl with the only motive of wanting to see more of me," Damon smirked smugly up at the sky. "Admit you want to babysit me and I'll think about it."

Addie scoffed, "That's pointless. You've already made up your mind. You said it would be a stupid and dangerous move whatever the reason."

"Yeah but it turns out you gave me a reason that might just be worth the risk. We didn't get into a relationship so we could hide how we feel about each other; that would be taking a step backwards. Almost everyone who matters already knows we are, at the very least, close friends," replied Damon quietly, gently increasing his grip on her hand.

With her free hand over her mouth to hide her grin, she snickered, "Aww, Damon. That was almost sentimental of you."

"Shut up and just admit your intentions," he scowled.

"Alright, alright. I want to spend more time with you but I also want to be around because I think you'll be less likely to do something rash if you think I might get hurt. I know you're still going to figure out a way to do whatever you want to do but that doesn't mean I should make it easy on you if I think _you_ might get hurt."

Damon pulled at the shoulder of Addie's shirt smirking at her.

"You take the fun out of it when you have to be so smug," she grumbled, rolling until her head rested higher on his chest.

He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, encouraging her to come closer. "I'm not being smug; I just like being right. And it's kind of cute how worry about me."

"Well, you don't care so I figure someone ought to," she whispered. Her lips caught his in a gentle, meaningful kiss.

"You know I'm invincible. You shouldn't worry about me."

Addie brushed at the hair on his forehead and smiled slightly, "I use to think that, before I got to know you. You're not indestructible, Damon, physically or mentally."

He glared at her and snarled, "I am fine."

"First off, that's a lie. You can fake it all you want, but don't blatantly lie to me. Se-"

"Hi. My name's Damon. I lie," he interrupted flatly.

"Fine," she muttered in exasperation. "I was being careful not to really lie to you but I'm just gonna go with that when it's more convenient from now on."

Tension thickened in the silence of the quarry as their blue eyes locked in heated gazes. Damon decided to cut it with a snarky comment, "It's a good thing I'm a human lie detector."

Sitting back on her knees, Addie frowned at him and said evenly, "I trust Elijah because he has an elixir to save Elena. He originally got it for Katherine 500 years ago because he was in love with her. I'm guessing he's enjoying seeing the runaway bitch locked in the tomb as much as you. And I'm actually really pissed off at you for killing that innocent girl last night. Caroline and Stefan don't go off and murder people when they get upset so I don't see why you feel entitled enough to take a life. So, was I lying about Elijah or you?"

"Both," he shrugged confidently, his hands arrogantly locked behind his hand. "You're a really bad liar, Addie."

"And you're a really bad lie detector," she noted. "Fifty percent accuracy is failing. I'll leave you to figure out which one is the lie."

"They're both lies, Addison. I can read you too well."

Addie rubbed her hands over her face, shaking her head in disbelief. "Think what you want. I can't believe you just changed the subject from you to lying like that."

"Oh, give me a break. We both deflect," Damon sneered.

"Have you ever considered that maybe we should stop doing that with each other? That maybe we should communicate?"

Damon stretched his arms out in the air in front of him and challenged, "Communication is a two-way street. You sure you want to go down that street, Addie? You really want to share your deepest thoughts and feelings with me? There are plenty of things that I know are bothering but I don't press at them. You really want me to start poking around all because you're upset that I don't want to discuss what I told you earlier?"

"I have nothing to hide, unlike you," she answered, her lips pressing into a thin, hard line.

"Let's face reality. I know I promised to save your sister and I will die trying but the fact is Elena is going to die. Klaus is going to catch up and slaughter her. You want to tell me how you really feel about that? And I mean how you _really_ feel, Addison? I know that anger and resent boiling deep down in you towards Elena plays a roll. We never would have ended up together if some tiny part of you didn't initially get satisfaction out of getting something she couldn't have. You never right out flirted with me in front of her but I assure you, if it had just been you and me on that trip to Georgia, you would have stuck with me instead of pouting the whole time. You were jealous that I was interested in her," Damon pointed out, daring her to talk about the unspoken taboo subject of her sister.

Addie laid on her stomach down the slightly sloping hill, facing the water. "I don't flirt with you in front of anyone. I barely even know how to flirt," she sniffed.

"Deflecting," Damon sung. "You can't ask me to share my demons when you're not willing to face yours."

A mother duck swam past them with three little ducklings trailing behind her. The last one fell out of line to poke at her beak at something on the bank. Curious, the second duckling turned around to join in with the first one. Elena, Jeremy, and Addie. Addie was always the one marching to the beat of her own drummer; she had to push the traditional gender norms when she was little, mischief and mayhem were always abound when her parents weren't keeping a close enough watch on her. Jeremy always got blamed when she would get stuck up in a tree or if they wandered too far into the woods and didn't make it back in time for dinner. It was most definitely his fault when she followed Jeremy down the steepest hill at the skatepark in her rollerblades. He was able to jump off his skateboard and regain his balance when he figured out that he wasn't good enough for that particular slope yet. Addie, stuck in her rollerblades, hadn't been able to find her balance and ended up falling, using her arm to brace her. The sound of people cracking joints still sent a sharp stinging in her arm where it had broken. Elena was particularly fond of using this torture device. But of course, duckling Elena was following the mother's trail, like the perfect, expected child. Saint Elena, the actress of the century.

"I don't hold you to that promise, Damon. I don't want you to die trying to save my 's the point of two deaths?" she replied bleakly.

"Closer but that's still not facing your demons.. And, for the record, I don't break promises. If I break this one that gives you reason to distrust everything I say."

"But flat out lying to my face when I know you're doing it doesn't?"

"It shouldn't. If we both know I'm lying then it means I don't want to talk about it because you are just going to be upset with the truth or it's personal."

"Weren't you the one just preaching communication?"

"No, that was you. I was making a point on how you don't want to communicate and discuss the fact that Elena's going to die."

Addie rolled onto her back and the slight slope they laid on made a little more blood than usual flow to her head, giving her a heavy, foggy feeling. Maybe more blood to her head would make it work better. She was getting confused in this conversation about Elena. The heady feeling from the increase in blood couldn't particularly be described as nice but it was distracting some off the attention she was giving Damon, who wasn't making her feel much more uncomfortable in a different way. "I already told you: Elijah has a magic potion. She's gonna be fine."

"You can drop the act, Ads. You're bad liar. Besides, what's Elena to Elijah? Why would he bother saving her? You wouldn't be stupid enough to put your faith in him and some mystical potion. Elena, maybe, but not you. You're story is filled with plot holes," replied Damon, annoyance lacing his words.

"You're right," she conceded, pausing for a moment to let him think he won. "She doesn't mean anything to him but by guaranteeing her a way to survive this he gets her cooperation. Elena doesn't go running off to Klaus, rather Elijah gets Klaus on, for lack of a better word, his own territory if he wants Elena and to go through with the sacrifice. Klaus, unaware of who we're working with, is caught off guard in enemy territory and is easier to take out. Elena goes off on her own, Klaus just has to get the moonstone, and, really, how hard is that? It seems like everyone's had it at this point. Then he can break the curse whenever he wants and Elijah misses his chance to kill him."

Damon's eyebrows rose; he was slightly surprised at how well she had thought that out on the spot. "One problem with your story. Elijah promised to keep everyone safe. If the plan involves Elena dying and relying on some witchy, ancient potion, that's not keeping her safe. That's a gamble at best."

"Elena told Stefan that she was going to be safe?"

He frowned, "I have no idea. I admittedly tune out when anyone starts talking about their significant other. It's boring babble that makes me want to poke out my eyes just so I can have an excuse to leave. But, back to the point, _you_ told me Elijah said he was going to keep everyone safe."

"Technically, the deal was he would keep everyone Elena cares about safe. The arrangement never actually stated that he would keep _Elena_ safe."

Damon jerked up into a seated position, staring at Addie, who seemed to be tilting her head back as far as she possibly could. He wasn't sure what to make of the complete lack of desire to sink his fangs into her perfectly exposed throat; her venomous blood aside. "You were brokering a deal for her and you didn't think to include, oh, I don't know, her living into it?! And what the hell are you doing?"

"Seeing the world from a new perspective, upside down. It really puts reality into perspective. And I wasn't actually brokering her deal; all I did was see an opportunity to try and get Stefan free. Elena knew the deal and it was her decision. This deal protects the people I care about, too. He either keeps it or we have two Originals to worry about. For the first time, since I was about 8, I'm actually looking up to Elena. Well, sort of. If Elijah isn't a man of his word I say she turn herself over to Klaus right away. Less collateral damage and all that."

Damon turned around on the blanket and laid so that their shoulders were touching. In attempt to understand her better, he awkwardly tilted his head backwards, trying to see this new perspective. Her hand found his and Damon brought hers to his lips, softly kissing the back of it. "Ads, I'm here for you to talk about anything and everything with no judgement. Text me at four in the morning and I'll be right there," he vowed. "Actually, you can send a text but you're gonna have to call and hangup. I'll wake to a phone call but a text notification isn't long enough. But you get my point. The thing is, and I'm not saying you need to discuss this with me, but you do need to talk about your problems with your sister."

"Yeah, sure, no problemo," Addie agreed sarcastically. "Just as soon as you talk to someone about your problems with Stefan. You guys have over 150 years head start on issues compared to Elena and me."

"I'm not supporting Stefan in a suicide mission."

Addie was quick to protest, "Martyr mission. She's protecting everyone she cares about."

"Either way, your sister is headed to her death and you're not trying to stop it. You're practically encouraging it. The question is why? Why do you act so unphased by her impending death? There's some deep rooted issues there. Are you ok about her dying? Is this just some weird calm before you officially freak out? She's your-"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" she burst out. "I don't want to talk about Elena!"

Damon turned his so he was looking at Addie. His hand cupped her cheek, first guiding her head back to a normal position before turning her face so it was right in front of him. Tears sparkled in her eyes, the dark blue color of the lake. He kissed her softly. "I'm sorry," he murmured against her lips. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Addie pulled away, yanking his hand off her face. "You're lying, again! That's exactly what you meant to do. You wanted me to get upset enough to talk about Elena."

"You need to talk about it."

"_You_ need to talk about being miserable."

His jaw clenched reflexively as he looked to the sky and snarled, "I'm fine."

"Quit lying!" she ordered.

"You first."

"I'm not lying to you," she snipped, wiping at the hot, angry tears that leaked out. "I just don't want to discuss my _feelings_ about Elena dying!"

Sensing his eyes on her, Addie rolled onto her side, resting her head on her outstretched arm and pulling her knees slightly towards her chest. Damon molded himself to her with an arm around her waist and rested his head atop hers. "I'm less miserable when I'm with you," he choked, clearing his throat. "I don't exactly know how or when it happened but people expect me to be a good guy now. Especially your sister, which is hard because even though I don't love her, I still care about her. Not at all like the way I feel about you," he reassured her quickly, feeling her stiffen. Damon squeezed her tighter to him. "With you, I don't feel like I have to be that guy. You know I'm a bad guy and you don't expect me to change. I mean, I killed someone and you aren't pissed."

"I am actually really pissed at you," grumbled Addie, maintaining her story from earlier.

He sighed heavily, "I'm being serious and you're interrupting with crap lies. You don't just deflect when it's about you; you do it anytime things get too serious or emotional for your liking."

"Emotions get you screwed, Damon."

"You're the one who suggested we stop deflecting and communicate. That leads to emotions Ergo communication gets you screwed. A relationship is built on communication and, well, you get where I'm heading. You know, you've been in a bit of a pessimistic mood today," Damon decided.

Addie pursed her lips; if there was anything that put her in a bad mood it was someone telling her that she was in a bad mood. She glowered, "Misery loves company."

"You really need to learn how to handle emotions."

"Pot to kettle. I didn't kill someone because I'm having an identity crisis," she muttered.

"_You _are my fucking crisis," growled Damon, rolling onto his back.

She frowned, placing her head on his shoulder tentatively, "What does that mean exactly?"

Damon huffed and… well, he didn't think it constituted as pouting if no one saw. He picked up a lock of hair and twirled the purple strands around his finger while considering his words carefully. "You know I'm a bad guy and you aren't asking me to change. You're still willing to be with me, which is some confusing combination of amazing and unbelieveable because you are a good girl. There's this part of me that wants to change and be the good guy because you deserve a _good guy_. But I don't want to change who I am for a girl. Last time I did that I ended up physically changing and it wasn't as cracked up as she made it seem. And, frankly, I don't even know if i _can_ change who I am at this point. I'm just, I'm pretty certain I can't be the guy you deserve. It's awful knowing that and the _right_ thing to do would be to let you go. But I'm a bad guy; I'm selfish and I don't want to be without you."

"Ok, I think I followed that but I'm not sure. Um, addressing one issue, it should be a known fact that Katherine was a manipulative bitch who convinced you into changing your personality and she was wrong for that. Second, why does everything have to be classified as good or bad? What happened to the middle? The only place you find just black and white is in a book. Even black and white TVs had shades of grey. Thirdly,I'm not a _good girl_. I'm playing for team neutral. I'm not on quest and missions to save people, save the city, save the world. I'm just trying to live a normal life and doing what's in my best interest. Sometimes that means doing _good_ things and sometimes _bad_ things.

"Fourth is that I deserve the exact type of person as you and that is someone who will respect and support me. The most important thing for you to know is that I don't want you to change, Damon. I don't like classifying you as a bad guy because you're not that simple. Your moral compass may be far from north but that alone doesn't make you a _bad guy_. I've been liking you a lot just the way you are for quite sometime. Why tweak a method that's working? I may not like you if you start acting like a _good guy_ or one that you think I deserve. I want Damon Salvatore, the original make and model. Well, the vamped-up remodel; I hear the original was a bore and he'd definitely be one as a pile of bones now.

"I'm not denying that you have your flaws that I'm not crazy about and ok, I would prefer it if you came to me or drank or did something besides have a violent outburst when you get upset. But I don't need you to change any of those things. I don't want you to change into someone _good_, someone you're not. I know other girls have been a little confusing for you but I'm certain of which brother I fell for and it wasn't the one with the hero hair. I don't expect you to be some kind of hero. Besides, bad boys are more attractive," Addie smirked, pushing aside his shirt, where she had opened two buttons before, and tracing random patterns lightly against his chest.

He laughed, "Bad boys are bad for a reason. We are insanely attractive but make for very bad companions. Hero's are much more steady and reliable and also a bore. You can see why I would be reluctant to turn into one of those guys."

"Damon, Damon, Damon. I'm flighty and a bit unpredictable on the best of days. I need someone who can keep up with that and be a source of entertainment. For example, I've ended up here instead of at school today. It makes for an interesting change of pace in my attempt at a monotonous life," Addie grinned up at him cheekily.

Damon lifted his head, pulled her to him and gave her a long, slow, passionate kiss. "What am I going to do with you?" he mumbled more to himself, letting his head fall back against thee ground. "You are literally driving me crazy, Ads."

"I don't mean to," she answered while undoing the rest of the buttons on his pressed, black polyester shirt. It parted, the sides falling away from him with a quick sweep of her hand. Tantalizing fingers danced along the outline of his ribs and muscles. "At least 9 times out of ten I don't intend to drive you crazy," amended Addie reflectively.

It had been a long time since he had just laid out in the sun and Damon had forgotten how much he enjoyed it. Warmth of the sun reflecting off of his chest coursed through him; he was still cold-blooded but between the caffeine from his coffee and the sun, he could almost imagine normal blood flowing through him. It was little things about being human that he would always miss. However, a perk of being a vampire that he would never tire of was the heightened physical sensations. Chills ran up his spine as her nail traced down the center of his chest, dipping into his belly button, over his treasure trail and ending at the hem of his pants. Rolling his shoulders, he sighed, "Is this one of those one out of ten times you're trying to make me crazy?"

Addie shook her head, looking at him in confusion, "What are you talking about?" He raised an eyebrow and looked down at his exposed chest where she was lightly running one nail from tracing one rib to the corresponding one on the other side. She followed his gaze and quickly retracted her hand, her cheeks turning rosy red. "No. I, uh, no. I wasn't trying anything. I just like," blushing scarlet, she mumbled, "touching you."

Damon snickered, "You know, it's possible to do that with my shirt closed,"

The material of his dress shirt felt stiff and scratchy as she played with it, too embarassed to focus on Damon. Addie couldn't help but wonder why he would wear a pressed dress shirt to come lay out next to a lake as she looked down at it. She shook her head again, her voice barely more than a whisper, "That's not touching _you_."

"So you have a fascination with my bare chest, eh?" he smirked arrogantly, unconsciously flexing his pectorals and abdominals.

"Hey! Guys are entranced because girls' chest aren't flat. Girls should have just as much of a right to be captivated because a guy's chest is flat. It's the whole Sigmund Freud's penis-envy idea except for breast," Addie quickly responded defensively.

Damon laughed, pulled his shirt from her fumbling fingers and placed her hand back on his stomach, "I guess you could see it like that with gender roles reversed. Men envy women for having breast and subsequently somewhere in their basic programming they want breast and that's why we are so obsessed with them. Women are just enticed by a man's chest because it's the most socially sexualized part of the male body."

Addie succumbed to his tugging on her shirt and laid next to him, her head on Damon's shoulder. She pursed her lips, reviewing what he had said. It made enough sense to go with Freud's crazy theory; where the idea of penis-envy came from she wasn't sure. For making it up on the spot, it was good enough. "Yep. That is exactly what I meant."

"You know most modern psychologist and sexologist consider almost all of Freud's theory to be bogus?"

"I am a woman, which means whatever argument I see as right is right." Addie said, biting back a smile. "And you just made up the term sexologist."

Damon scoffed, "You see, it's that entitlement that other girls _actually_ have that makes women think they should always win a domestic dispute. You were joking; you were trying not to laugh. Your abs betrayed you by contracting anyways." He squeezed his hand around her waist to emphasize his point, his fingers skimming the edge of her abdominals. "And one thing I don't joke about is sex which by extension includes sexologist. _They_ are some freaky people. Alfred Kinsey? The guy was so weird but he had some of the best stories. I was bored and his work was interesting so I signed up for one of his studies but when I realized that this particular experiment involved him having sex with his participants in his attic and filming it, I had to back out. That got a little too weird for me."

"Seriously?"

"Oh, yeah," Damon nodded enthusiastically, even though she couldn't see. "Mind you, he was actually getting funded by a research company to do this."

"So, he was basically being paid to star in his homemade pornos?" Addie gawked in disbelief.

"Pretty much. It was so he could better understand his participants' responses to his questions about their sexuality and sexual practices, apparently."

Addie reflected on this new information, "I don't know if I'm more impressed that he got someone to pay him for having sex and it was considered scientific research - most people would consider it prostitution - or if I'm more confused about how having sex with someone is going to help you better understand sexual practices you've asked about in an scientific setting."

"That was my question. It just sounded like a pretext for him to have sex with guys without him facing his sexuality. I mean, some things are easier to demonstrate than explain but he didn't ask any questions that were like that, at least he didn't ask me. I don't do experiments anymore without knowing every step up front," Damon shrugged, slightly shifting Addie's head.

Perplexed, she couldn't resist asking, "What's easier to demonstrate than explain?"

"No," he drawled, his lips pursed and shifting from side to side as he thought about about her question, "no, nun-uh. Not having this conversation with you."

"What? Why not? _You're_ going to get awkward about sex?" challenged Addie.

"No, I'm completely comfortable with it. I'm just not willing to go into the details and technicalities with you."

She huffed, sitting up, "You ever notice you get weird talking about any vague details of sex with me. Shouldn't we be able to talk about it? I get that we're not having it. I'm kind of happy that you have your weird issues because it means I don't feel any pressure to do something I'm not ready for. But I have to wonder, if I was someone else would you still have this weird hang-up? I mean, you didn't with Katherine, you haven't with probably a few hundred barely legal sorority girls. Would you have had this issue if I was Elena?"

Damon sighed and sat up as well. He raked a hand over his face and groaned. "No, no, I would not. But before you get all offended," he tacked on, seeing her frown, "you should know I wouldn't have an issue because you wouldn't be you and I wouldn't be attracted to you. It's just that you're so-"

"Young? Daenerys Targaryen is 13 when she's married off and traded for an army of 40,000 men. If you have read the _Song of Ice and Fire, _you'll know she is very, very, very much sexualized. There are some disturbingly graphic scenes for a series about crazy, murder-happy, incestuous families fight for power. Violet Baudelaire was 14 and she was going to be married off to some creepy old guy and that was in the very popular _children's_ books _A Series of Unfortunate Events_. There's two pop-culture references right there that I didn't even have to think about," Addie interjected.

"Fiction, Ads, works of fiction," stressed Damon.

Addie frowned, a truly random thought coming to her. For once she wouldn't be able to explain how she came to the topic if Damon accused her of being random. Thoughtful, she asked, "You went into the war to avoid marrying my ancestor Madison Gilbert. What was suppose to happen after you came back? Or did you plan to hide for forever in the military before Katherine came to Mystic Falls."

He rolled his eyes, dropping to lean back on his elbows. He could give her the short version or he could risk oversharing and boring her with a little bit of information from a time in his life Damon rarely shared. He was definitely going to regret letting her get so close but he didn't know how else he was suppose to connected with her. He took a deep breath before launching into the past, "I didn't desert because of Katherine. I just said that to win favor with her and make my brother mad. I joined up as a way to escape a problem. I was sent out to Richmond in January of '61. I probably could have avoided any wedding plans and not gone out until March, which would have been a hell of a lot warmer. First few months nobody really knew what was going to happen with the North. We grunts mostly wasted a lot of ammo and alcohol. There was some training but a lot of it was just disorganization.

"Things got a little more serious in April when the first batch of troop was sent out to Fort Sumter. After that, more rules and routines and regulations were enforced but it was still pretty lax, especially compared to today. The Confederacy was a bit arrogant from Sumter. They didn't feel the need to take themselves _that_ seriously. Early July, I was sent out with 75% of the base to a few miles outside of D.C. July 21st was the battle of Bull Run. They say there were over 32,000 men on the Confederate's side. It lasted two days. Turns out Southern boys who grow up hunting made for better soldiers than city boys. The Union was back on their side by sunset of the 22nd. My guess is that only 7,000 of us in the South even fired a shot.

"At that point uniforms weren't standard issue and friendly fire could be a bit of a problem. I was working with a shotgun and had my arm up and extended aiming for my first shot. A guy behind me fired off a pistol. Lucky for me he was a shitty shooter and the bullet only grazed the side of my ribs, just below my armpit. Idiot was going for my heart through my back. You'd think he'd be smart enough to _not_ fire at me, considering I had my gun pointed towards the enemy," he snorted in disgust at the stupidity of some.

"You got shot?" Addie whispered in horrification. His storytelling skills were just so mesmerizing; she could listen to him for hours. A little voice was telling her she had asked him something that he hadn't answered but she couldn't remember what it was.

Damon looked at her in surprise, "You haven't noticed?"

Her eyes narrow as she looked at him skeptically, "Noticed what?"

Sitting up, he pulled his right arm out of his shirtsleeve and grabbed at his left shoulder with his right hand. Damon nodded his head towards his side, "That."

"I thought you couldn't scar," Addie murmured, running her finger over the puckered skin almost three inches long. How had she missed this? Admittedly the keloid scar was exactly where he said, just below his armpit, and his arm would have to have been positioned correctly for her to access it. But her hands had been all over his back and chest; she should have come across this thin scar long ago.

Enjoying the warmth of the sun, he decided to just take his shirt off. It didn't look like Addie was going to stop staring at his scar and tracing it any time soon and he felt kind of stupid with his shirt half on. "I don't scar _now_, thank god. Do you know how torn up I'd look? However, I was human when I was shot and I scarred then. Spent four months in the sick bay for that little scrap once we got back to Richmond. Hygiene was crap back then and it got infected. I'm still convinced it's from the catgut stitches that absorbed into my skin. Yes, catgut. They were made of intestines but not necessarily a cat's.

"Once I was all patched up I went to several smaller battles and a few bigger one for the next two and a half years. When I wasn't fighting my job was to fix guns, sharpen swords, give firing lessons. If it involved your weapon you came to me. I was impressive. Followed orders. Always did more than expected. Was likable. I rose through the ranks quickly. While rising, I learned more about what I joined. I didn't question what I was being told; we had to defend slavery because otherwise there would be a slave rebellion. People like Nat Turner and John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry made that appear to be a real fear. Churches said that by rejecting slavery, the North was rejecting the Bible and of course they found text to support their agenda, like every side of every moral cause does.

"That brings us to May of 1963, when I was granted a leave of absence to visit home for the first time since I left. My father gave me a grand welcoming. He was all talk about how proud he was of me and how I was doing the noble and right thing and telling Stefan he should follow my lead once he turned 18. I should have been happy to finally have my father's approval, especially considering how upset he was for breaking his marriage arrangement when I left. It was apparently a very beneficial dowry for him, something about a new business with the entire Gilbert clan. It wasn't like it is now; each Founding Family had several nuclear families rather than one. The wealthiest family within the family was considered the leader of the the family name.

"Weird thing about coming home was that my father and I never really saw eye to eye and suddenly we did. While I wasn't being a love struck idiot chasing after Katherine, I was questioning everything I'd been hearing in the military, which was what my father was preaching. I uncovered that his motivation was the nine billion dollars that the would come as an economic lost to the south if abolition happened. He'd actually have to pay people to run his… everything. The time came for me to go back and I started to but I realized I didn't want to. I enjoyed the military life well enough but I didn't agree with what I was fighting for. So, I deserted and was a disappointment to my father, yet again."

Addie cupped his cheek and turned his head towards her, pulling his distant gaze back to the present. She smiled at him slightly and softly pressed her lips to his. Reluctantly, she pulled away; her question still wasn't answered. "I love hearing stories of your past. And I'm sure I'm going to regret saying this someday but I actually like the sound of your voice and listening to you," Addie sighed, letting her hands rove over his upper chest and shoulders. "What was the plan if you hadn't died and your brother didn't kill your father?"

"You mean if I was smart and hadn't suggested we try and rescue Katherine?" he posed blatantly with a raised eyebrow. "Well, my father, once he calmed down, would have arranged another marriage."

"Any idea with who?"

Damon rubbed at the back of his neck uncomfortably, "It would have been someone from a Founding Family not already matched up or married. I mean, even Stefan already had a wife selected for him. The Families only married within each other for a long time. I think they finally branched out when it got to be a bit incestuous. The list of girls that weren't already in contracts was limited and my father would have exploited my war hero status, saying honorable discharge, and the fact that I already had my own personal savings separate from the family money. He probably would have put me in charge of some large section of the company to show me as having a stable, high status and high paying job. He'd do all that just to raise the dowry that came with a wife because he was a greedy bastard. Those factors included it would have been between between Lucinda Fell and Charlotte Lockwood; their parents would have been the only ones with the money and unclaimed daughters old enough. Really, women were just property. Thank god for the feminist movement."

"How old was old enough?" demanded Addie, giving him an accusatory glare.

"They were 14 and 15 but it doesn't matter! That was a different time and culture," Damon answered quickly.

Gently, she pushed him to his back and rested her chin on his chest, "It was the time and culture you grew up in, so you can't say you're weird around me because I'm 'so young.'"

He rubbed at his face in frustration. There was no way he could explain it to her without it sounding awful. "Ok," Damon groaned, "I can't explain why I get uncomfortable with you when anything comes close to the idea of us having sex. I just get a knotted pulling in my stomach. Can you just drop it? I've knocked off trying to get you to talk about things you don't want to."

"Fine," she sighed, resting her cheek against his chest. The beating of his heart was a soothing metronome. As they laid there, the combination of his rubbing of her back, the steady thumping beneath her ear, the warmth of the sun and having been up all night, Addie could feel her eyelids start to droop. In attempt to stay awake, she forced back a yawn and asked, "W-w-why do you tell me so much about yourself? I'm not complaining; I like it. You're just a very private person and it seems very unlike you."

Damon bit at his lip, considering what he should tell her and what to hold back. He didn't want to lie but oversharing could result in a severe backlash. "You're right. Usually, when I want a girl to know I care about her I show her physically. I can't do that with you right now, possibly ever!" Damon blurted out, words vomiting up out of his control. "Then I have to ask how else can I get you to realize I care about you? I figure trusting you with my past, my thoughts, such personal things-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get that," she interrupted icily, lifting her head to scowl at him."Go back to the 'possibly ever' part. Are you not attracted to me or something?"

"No. Yes. I mean, it's more something," he fumbled for words, propping himself up on his elbows and shaking his head. He groaned, pressing the heels of his palms into his eye. This was never suppose to come out. "Of course I'm attracted to you, Ad. I wouldn't be with you if I wasn't attracted to you."

"I'm stuck on the 'no' and 'something' bit," snapped Addie.

Damon winced and hesitated, "Don't get mad, at least not until I get to explain myself." He looked to her for confirmation but she just glared back expectantly. Damon sighed and took her hands from his chest and into his own. He didn't want to but he had to tell her the truth. Damon bestowed a kiss on the back of each hand before catching her hard gaze. "I'm head over heels for you, Ads. When I fell for you, I really started to fall. I'm still falling. I'm falling faster than when I started because gravity is just pulling me closer and closer to you," he confessed, feeling exposed and vulnerable. "I am more than attracted to you. I just have a problem as seeing you as someone who can be sexually desired past a certain extent. Shh. Let me finish. I-"

Addie was shaking her head, her mouth hanging open, insisting on interrupting him, "We've been - No, I've felt you - You let-"

"I said, 'Let me finish,'" he repeated, slow and firm. Guilt ripped at him for the tears that sparkled in her dark blue eyes. "You've sensed my body physically respond to stimuli. I very much enjoy kissing you and making out with you but that is the limit for as far as I am literally capable of finding you desirable. I _can't_ imagine doing anything further with you without feeling disgusted with with myself, which I will promise to explain better. It's why I have all the rules and limits when I'm with you. It's too easy for me to slip up and to just go with what feels good rather than sticking with what I really want or believe. When I'd get back to my senses after going any further with you, I would be completely disgusted and angry with myself. I want things to happen between us because we want them to and we care about each other, not because I'm acting on baser instinct."

"This isn't a very good explanation, Damon. So far I've just gathered that I'm too disgusting for you to do any more than kiss," she gritted out, growing self-conscious and frustrated.

Damon ran his fingers through his hair anxiously. There he went again, picking up her nervous habit. He spent too much time with the girl. "It's the exact opposite, Ads. You're too _perfect_ for me to touch, too good," insisted Damon, looking into her eyes imploringly, needing to see that she understood. "Ads, I look at you and I see everything I'm not. You're made of _innocence _and _purity _and _naivety _and wholesomeness and sweetness. You're fragile, delicate, breakable, untouchable. Me? I'm rough, reckless and covered in blood. I can't touch you. I don't want to break, sully, taint or tarnish you. I mean, I've already kind of corrupted you. If it wasn't for me, you would never have gotten a hickey or bite marks all over your neck."

Her heart was racing and a swarm of butterflies invaded her stomach. It was just like those early days with Damon when everything was all nerves or when he looked at her like she was the only person in the world. Addie's hand found Damon's and interlaced their fingers. She leaned in a pressed a kiss firmly to his lips. Feeling him start to respond, she pulled her knees under her, freeing her other hand to travel into his raven locks. Damon sat up further, allowing the kiss to deepen. Eventually, he pulled away, a puzzled look on his face.

"Not that I am opposed to that response but I was expecting something more negative."

Addie tilted her head from side to side in consideration, "Because you basically downgraded me to a porcelain china doll? I'm a little annoyed and insulted. That you're worried about breaking me or ruining me or whatever? I think you're stupid and giving yourself a little too much credit but I'm choosing to focus on the idea that it is sweet of you to worry about wrecking me. And, hey, how many other guys are going to think that I'm _too_ perfect or good? You're completely delusional and wrong in thinking that, for the record. And why would I possibly be upset that you're hang-up surrounding me is a catch-22. You basically said you can't think about me sexually because I'm inexperienced but I'm apparently going to remain that way because I'm in a relationship with you and you can't help me gain experience as you're still bothered by my inexperience."

Damon pushed the long sweeping bangs out of her face and behind her ear. Her little smile was beautiful and the little dimple she got under her right eye when she flashed it; he couldn't help but stare. God, he was so screwed. His brow furrowed, catching something that needed correction, "It's not a downgrade, Addie. I've never looked at anyone the way I look at you. You're like the North star, shining brighter than all the rest. I've never worried about hurting someone; even with Katherine I was more worried about me getting hurt."

"That was valid," Addie pointed out. "Someone's going to get burned when two brothers are sleeping with the same vampire whore. For future reference, when my sister makes a move on you remember that I won't make your mistake."

He reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap. Damon sighed in content when she wrapped her arms around his neck and lightly scratched at his back. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not interested in your sister?"

She shrugged, "You're capable of having sex with her. The offer might be tempting, especially since she's a good manipulator. Something about her dying and having a face you've loved all your life and how you once loved her and she love you too but oh! She just couldn't becau-"

"Alright, alright," Damon cut her off before her increasingly high pitched and airy voice could break glass. "You don't trust me with your sister; I get it."

"Pretty much," nodded Addie.

He rolled his sky blue eyes at her dramatically, "You're suppose to say you trust me but you don't trust her."

She dropped her head to his shoulder and buried her face in his neck. The crisp, musky, sandalwood accented scent of his aftershave tickled at her nose. It was a reassuring, familiar smell at this point. Addie mostly trusted Damon but he did have a weakness with women and she definitely didn't trust her sister. "Am I going to have to eventually cheat on you so you'll sleep with me?"

His arms instinctively tightened around her and a low rumbling stirred deep in his throat. Damon shook his head, "No. I… I don't like the idea of anyone touching you. You're too cherishable for anyone to touch."

"That's getting a little ridiculous, Damon," she sighed in exasperation. "I'm not going to live my life as a nun."

"I know," he mumbled in distaste. "I'll figure out a way to get over it."

Addie leaned back, placing her fingertips along his jaw. He must have shaved before he showered that morning. With a gentle pressure she was able to direct his head from side to side. "No," she drew out, "you won't. We'll figure out how to get over it. You're gonna have to work on the stupid idea that you're going to break or mar me. I'll have to work on showing you that I am not as naive and sweet and pure as you think and that I am completely capable of corrupting myself. If you recall, I've been the one trying to take things further, I can't keep my hands off of you and I get you shirtless every chance I get."

Damon held her tight as he laid back with her on him. Addie shifted her hips so they weren't on Damon while wiggling out of her green and blue flannel, leaving her in her dark green tank top. She scrunched the shirt into a ball and placed it next to Damon's head, resting hers on it, looking at his profile. He yawned while she was settling herself and responded, "How about you don't try and prove anything? I like you the way you are. Let's just hope that one day I wake up and see you in a different light. I want you to be naive and innocent for as long as possible. I want to protect you from the darkness in this world as much as possible. You have no idea how grateful I am that you aren't like your brother and sister and don't want to be involved in all the crazy that goes on around here."

His yawn caused her to yawn in return. "I guess."

He turned his head so that the tips of their noses touched. Bags under her eyes and a lack of color in her cheeks suggested that she was tired. The fact that she didn't argue with him confirmed it. "Tired?" he asked softly.

"Kind of. I was up all night worrying about you since you wouldn't talk to me and I suspected things weren't going well," she answered, slightly bitter. "Actually, I kinda got tired of worrying around two in the morning. You're a big boy. You've survived 170 something years without me. But I got a really big rush of inspiration for my music. I finished this really great song that I might actually submit to London. I was feeling really high and decided to go for a run and see if I could get higher doing sprints but the newspaper burst my bubble."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I'm not use to having someone care and didn't think about how my ignoring your messages might have concerned you," apologized Damon, briefly holding her tighter. "That's really great about the song though. Would you let me listen to it? If not, that's ok. I get that your music is really personal for you."

Her eyes closed as she had a mental game of tug a rope on whether or not to tell him. Eventually, Addie conceded, "I was actually going to share it with you right before Elena called. I guess I can still but not right now. I'm too comfortable." She yawned again.

Damon couldn't disagree; Addie draped across him was very comfortable. "Mmm. Much agreed. You can fall asleep if you want, Ads," he murmured, feeling her kind of jerk herself back to awareness.

"What about you?" she whispered.

He rubbed at her back and stroked her hair, feeling her already start to relax. Between dealing with Rose's body, the body of the girl he killed and his own demons, he hadn't exactly had a restful night either. "You're not the only one who didn't sleep last night. We could both use a nap."

"Much agreed," she mumbled, echoing him.

Gently, Damon brushed his lips against hers. "Sweet dreams, Ads."

"You too, Damon."

It only took a few minutes for Addie to fall asleep with Damon following her soon after. In that moment, at the lake in the quarry that held one of Damon's darkest memory, basked in the warmth of the spring sun, wrapped in each other's arms, sleeping, everything was perfect. There were no Originals to worry about, no haunting ideas, no problems between them. Being together just felt right and that was all Addie could think when she woke up about an hour later.

* * *

Wind whipped Addie's hair around her face as they traveled back into town. Monstrous, grey rain clouds had rolled in and the air was muggy. Addie couldn't understand why the were riding with the top down considering the look of the sky but Damon had insisted that it wasn't going to rain. Damon had been acting much more closed and guarded since he had received a text message. He had tried to be discreet in checking it but Addie still caught him and the dark look that crossed his face. Shortly after, he was ready to leave.

"I want an honest answer, Damon. Why are we suddenly rushing back to town?" Addie demanded, speaking over the wind.

Damon's lips twitched towards a frown but he quickly returned to unreadable,. "As much as we may have liked to stay there for eternity, we have to return to reality."

"Honest. Evasive. You're up to something. What?"

"Don't worry about it, Addie. It doesn't concern you," instructed Damon.

Addie rolled her eyes, "Yeah, because that's always stopped my curiosity. What's going on?"

"Nothing. I'm just going to go have a friendly little chat with your uncle, " he answered far too innocently.

That confrontation was obviously going to happen, Addie knew the second her sister mentioned Uncle John being back. It was merely a question of who tried whom first. She sighed in exasperation, "Can you at least try to play nice and not snap his neck? He's my uncle."

"He tried to kill me."

"Technically, he couldn't have really tried without my help. It was my idea to not despell the vampire torture device. I wanted you dead. John wasn't the only one who tried to kill you," Addie pointer out, trying to persuade Damon into being cordial without him noticing.

"Yeah, I wouldn't bring that up. I'm only like 95% over it. Why can't you be like everyone else and hate the guy? You know what we haven't discussed that is kind of important?" Damon casually asked, switching topics.

She wasn't going to push the topic of John with Damon. Addie didn't _think_ he would kill John because he knew she cared about John and it would hurt her but he was Damon and you could never be certain. Reluctantly, she gave into his deflection, "What's that?"

His brows knitted together as he thought about his own opinion on the topic. "What or when are we telling people about us?"

"Ah, uh, well, I've kind of been lying," Addie admitted awkwardly. "Jeremy asked the other day about what was going on between us since he hadn't heard anything since our date. I told him we're just friends; we didn't really click like that. Elena thought we were together but now she believes that we're not because of you and Rose. I haven't bothered to correct her because it means I don't have to hear her snide comments. Bonnie and Caroline think the same as Elena because she has a big mouth and can't keep anything private to herself," she finished, scowling at the memory of her sister.

Damon nodded slowly, "Ok. Do you want people to think we're not together? I'm a little confused since you want me to compel Jenna to being ok with us."

Addie bit at her lip uncertainly, "Can't you just compel everyone? I don't want to lie about being with you but I don't want to hear everyone's warnings and comments."

"No. As much as I would like to, I can't protect you from all the assholes in the world," Damon said, taking her hand and giving her a quick, apologetic smile.

"How about we just do us and when someone catches on, we don't deny it but we don't necessarily answer unless we are explicitly asked? That way we're not hiding that we're together but we don't have to throw a coming out party," she finished lightly.

Damon frowned, "What exactly do you mean by 'do us?' How are we supposed to act together around other people?"

She shrugged, "We just do whatever we're comfortable with.. For example, I know from the tone of your kiss whether it would be one you would be ok with someone seeing or if it's just between us. I'm not comfortable with anyone seeing any of our kiss, though. I know your personality is going to be completely different when we're around other people than when we're alone; mine is too. I expect we might tease or bicker with each other more because we're simply both more abrasive than when it's just you and me. I mean the PDA is common sense; if we don't think the other person would be comfortable with it, don't do it."

"Yeah, ok, but what about things like personal space and relationship norms versus friendship norms? Do I try and sit next to you? Do I only do it if it's a convenient option? Or do I not sit by you at all? I haven't exactly dated a girl where these things are questions," he prattled.

Addie squeezed his hand reassuringly, "You're overthinking it. I know the signs; I am the queen of overthinking and making things more complicated than they need to be. If you want to sit by me, sit by me. If you don't, don't. I'm not going to get offended. If you're lucky I might feel bold enough to put my head on your shoulder! Really, Damon, do what you want unless you think I'd get embarrassed by it. If it's something that makes people put two and faster then so what? I'm not with you to worry about how you act around other people; I'm with you for the you that no one else gets to see. If you want to act like we're nothing more than friends, that's fine. If you want to flip around and give a million mixed signals depending on what kind of mood you're in, do it. That's probably how I'm going to end up acting. The only thing that matters is that we get enough time alone and there are no mixed signals there. Just be you, Damon, but be considerate of my desire to not have my personal life on display."

"Ok. Want to come babysit me while I talk to your uncle?"

Addie rolled her eyes, "I'm not trying to babysit you. I trust you to go alone."

Damon bit back a smirk, "I was more hoping you'd come to give him an aneurysm. His favorite niece showing up with his least favorite vampire."

"I take that back. I _don't_ trust you to go and behave."

"I'm already giving him an advantage," he mockingly whined. "He's at the Grill. Nice, open, public space."

"Explains why we had to suddenly leave. God forbid you risk missing this one and only opportunity to threaten my uncle. It's not like he's probably going to be around for at least a few days," Addie scoffed, pulling her hand away.

"I'll make it up to you."

Addie shook her head, "You can't. Moment's over"

"That's the one good thing about time. I'll make a new moment," promise Damon, annoyed that he had let his grudge ruin the little taste of paradise they had laying out at the lake.

She answered apathetically, "Whatever, Damon. I don't want to go to the Grill. I want to go home."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who had words of comfort or were supportive when I took a brief hiatus from working on this. It's still very difficult for me to write this but Addie's and Damon's story still has a lot left to it. With your guys' continued support, I'm sure that I can get through it. Updates may not be every Friday/Saturday like I prefer but they will continue on a regular basis as long as interest is still shown in the story. **


	29. Chapter 32

Caroline's room was so pink and dainty and there were too many floral prints. It was a clutter of cutesy little knick knacks, like angels in snow globes, a dresser mirror and a full length mirror. It was so _Caroline_. Who else would need two mirrors in their bedroom? It made Addie wonder if her room was so _Addie_. When people saw her room was it such an obvious reflection of herself or were there some surprises? Did people imagine her to have black walls with neon colors splatter plated on? Was her modern shiny, black furniture with silver handles and borders predictable? Surely not. She had a very hard time deciding between a modern, retro, classical English, and traditional look. Her duvet with large squares of bright shades of blue and bright shades of green might be a little predictable. Of course people would know she had a bookshelf but would it be surprising that it was a custom design by her uncle so that the shelf wrapped all the way around the room, breaking only for doors? Would the meticulous organization and lack of any real decor be a surprise? Was she predictable? Maybe she should throw on some blacklight paint and switch out the regular lights for blacklights. Or what if she added glow-in-the-dark paint? Would it still glow after going 6 hours without light absorption?

"Addieeeeeeee," whined a distant voice.

Addie focused back on the impromptu sleepover with her sister and Bonnie at Caroline's house. Apparently she had been taken by a pack of werewolves and tortured for the day; she wasn't exactly sure what happened she'd been too busy sulking as Stefan explained the story on the drive over. It's not that she didn't care about the blonde vampire but she was hoping that she would see Damon that night. Sure, she had spent almost all day with him but… She didn't miss him _already_; Addie wasn't going to be that clingy girl. But that nap had been the best sleep she had in weeks and she definitely wasn't opposed to getting some more rest like that. Plus, it had been a really great day even if they didn't actually do anything. They had barely even kissed. The quiet, the sun and each other's company was enough.

Damon had been _different_ today. Addie knew about his sensitive side buried 20,000 leagues under his heart but today had been a whole new level. He hadn't just been sensitive. He'd been vulnerable in telling her how he really felt about things between them and his own problems. The biggest and most unnerving thing was that she saw him break. It was only for a bit but it had happened. Damon had always seemed so strong about himself, mentally. His marbles may be a little loose and he let his feelings, negative or positive, towards other people get the better of him but he always seemed to be a rock.

Addie could tell, that today, he wanted to be closer to her, physically and emotionally. Any other day, even just the two of them, she didn't think he would tell her, in as much detail as he could, about his moment with Stefan before his mother's funeral. He would have told her he skipped and he got drunk but she really doubted he would have told her about the angel Stefan saw and that he was envious of his little brother for seeing it.

He liked cuddling, despite what he may say, more than she did. She felt like she had to limit her movement to keep from bothering him, which was uncomfortable at times considering her mild case of restless leg syndrome. Today, though, he wanted something deeper than just curling up together. Damon had them heart to heart when she laid across him. It wasn't the most comfortable and she would have moved but he had been holding her to him like she was a lifesaver and the only thing keeping him from sinking. That wasn't considering how he had let her hold him when he broke.

That was why she was so upset when he ended their time together to go and pick a fight with Uncle John. They'd been having a really good day. He was the most relaxed she had ever seen him. Even when it was just them, he still covered and guarded bits of himself. Today, he had been completely open. She doubted he could recreate that. He would have to break before being that exposed again and she didn't want to see him hurt like that again.

A pillow hit Addie in the face before it ricocheted onto the floor. In an attempt to clear her mind she shook her head before look at her friends and sister who were all staring at her expectantly. Her lips puckered into an awkward, uncomfortable face and she focused in on Bonnie, figuring she would be the most helpful. Wrong.

"Where have you been the past hour?" the witch demanded.

Addie rolled her eyes and avoided giving her the answer she wanted, "Right here, with you guys. Wait! Was I abducted by aliens and I don't know how much time has passed?"

"I'm beginning to wonder about that alien theory," Elena mused. "First you get lost in the woods all day and now you've been lost in your own mind for at least an hour. What's going on?"

She shook her head again, frowning, "Nothing. I just have had a bad sense of direction today?"

"That was so not a 'nothing' face. You were thinking about something and thinking about it hard," accused Caroline. She nodded knowledgeably, "I bet you were thinking about the same thing when you got lost in the woods. Spill."

"There's nothing to spill. I've just been thinking," she shrugged.

Bonnie smirked, "At least tell me that whatever you're thinking about is dreamy."

Addie thought about this. There were a lot of words she'd use for Damon but not that one; that was more Stefan. "No, he's not."

"Aha!" Elena exclaimed pointing at her sister. "We now know you are think about a he. Who is it?"

"No."

"Who?"

"No."

"There are three of us and one of you, Addie. We can keep this up all night long with no problem. I suspect you'll get tired of it real fast. It's easiest to just tell us now so we'll leave it alone for the rest of the night," Caroline smiled sweetly.

Vampire Barbie was right. It would make for a long night but… "Promise you will drop the questions if I tell you who."

Caroline and Bonnie nodded enthusiastically while Elena gave her a critical once over. Addie rolled her eyes at her sister.

"Damon," Addie said with a heavy sigh. "Now, what are we supposed to be doing?"

Caroline gave a squeal of excitement while Bonnie looked like she smelled rotten eggs. Elena was waiting to reserve judgment. She wanted to see something first. Nonchalantly she said, "I ran into him today at the Grill. Jenna tried to set him up with that chick who took over doing the news when Logan died. He totally blew her off and was a bit of dick about it."

Addie raised her eyebrows and feigned a slight interest. "Well, Rose literally died yesterday. Maybe he's… I don't know. It's Damon. He does what he wants. Does it really surprise you that he was a dick, though?"

"No," admitted Elena. "I confronted him about being a dick though. I think he's done enough of that lately. He said he's steering clear of all women at the moment and it's in the best interest of women everywhere."

"We'll see how long _that _last," Addie muttered.

Caroline was quick to speak before Elena could, her mouth already open, "Please tell me you were thinking of giving it another shot with him!"

"No!" exclaimed Bonnie.

Elena scoffed, "How about not?"

"Honestly?" Addie asked hesitantly, earning a glare from her sister, a look of disapproval and disgust from Bonnie and hopeful eyes from Caroline. "No. I can honestly say I was not thinking about giving Damon another chance. I'm just trying to figure out his current motives and intentions. He swore to make Stefan's life miserable so why is he helping save his girlfriend?"

Elena rolled her eyes and took a pillow, smacking her little sister with it. "You and Damon are both dense idiots. He's helping because he likes you, dumby."

"I don't think he would have been with Rose if that were true," Bonnie pointed out.

"It's _Damon_. He doesn't associate sex with emotions. He was seriously in love with Katherine for 145 years and didn't have a problem with it. I'm not saying what he did was smart but when Addie decides to go and ignore him for almost three weeks after a great date and he can't figure out why…," Elena trailed off with a shrug.

"He screwed Addie over before they even went on a date. You don't give the guy a second chance, plain and simple," explained Bonnie.

"They weren't actually together, though, so he didn't think he was doing anything wrong because he doesn't think like that. I mean, I doubt he's ever actually worried about the grey area of cheating," added Caroline. "Bonnie, you're completely biased against him because he's a vampire. And Elena's you're sister and dating his brother so her opinion is soooo biased. Damon used me and abused me but now we're on slightly ok terms. My opinion is the best opinion you're going to get. You give the guy another chance. You two are perfect for each other."

"I can see that my opinion on the matter doesn't count at all," Addie muttered. "And what do you mean we're perfect for each other?! You think I'm a perfect match for a self-serving psychopath?" she snapped at Caroline.

"I don't mean anything bad by it but when you look at everything, you two are like the perfect fit. Bonnie pass me my laptop," order Caroline, holding her hand out expectantly. "I know you don't believe but it's true; a Scorpio like Damon and a Virgo like you make for a very strong couple. They match -"

Addie had to cut her off; she was not about to listen to some astrological bullcrap. Her voice was harsh and left no room for discussion, "I am not going to take relationship advice from the planets. My birthday has nothing to do with my compatability with Damon. Do we need to revisit the discussion where I completely disprove -"

Elena dug her nails into her sister's forearm to shut her up. She ignored the wide eye, crazy look Addie was giving her and watched Caroline click at her computer. Out of the corner of her mouth she hissed, "Let her do this. We're here for her, _remember_?"

"What does _she_ have to do with Damon and me? I don't remember my love life or lack there of being something I agreed to let Caroline babble nonsense about when you talked me into coming over here," whispered Addie, wrenching her arm away from her sister.

"It makes her happy. She was tortured, Addie. Tortured."

Caroline cleared her throat and sat up straighter, "You guys totally balance each other. Listen to this. 'Both Virgo and Scorpio present an inscrutable mask in public, so this couple probably had quite a task in getting to know each other to begin with.' Seriously, I do not know two people more guarded than you and Damon. It took you guys, what? Seven, eight months to get to date number one? Now, can you deny that you admire Damon's 'confidence, strength, and stubbornness?'"

Addie shifted uncomfortably on the cramped bed as she felt the other girls staring at her. She frowned, "I prefer to call it his arrogance, nerve, and pigheadedness."

"You still admire those traits," Elena taunted.

"I have to take it from her. She was tortured. Don't think I won't turn this right around on you and torture _you_, Elena," Addie threatened under her breath, so only her sister could hear.

"'Scorpio is an emotional sign, and attempting to figure them out with logic doesn't always get very far. Be-'"

Addie scoffed and interrupted, "Congratulations, Caroline. You've done it! That single sentence has converted me into a believer. I've tried countless times to logically understand Damon or reason him out but it is impossible."

"'Be wary of your Scorpio's moods and try not to criticize at bad times. Your Scorpio is deep, passionate, and volatile in all things, and incurring his wrath isn't a good idea when it's avoidable.' Tell me that isn't Damon to the 'T!'" exclaimed Caroline, ignoring Addie's interruption.

Addie rolled her eyes, "Fits Damon. Doesn't fit me. I happen to enjoy invoking his wrath, in case you haven't noticed. It makes for a very hilarious display of his giant hissy fit."

"You ruffle his feathers for fun but you don't actually piss him off," corrected Elena, motioning for Caroline to continue.

Feeling her phone vibrate, Addie pulled it out of her pocket and figured anything, even a phone call, had to be better than this. It was definitely something much preferable.

**Damon: Please tell me you didn't get sucked into girl's night. Stefan says you did but I say he's lying so I won't see you.**

She heard Caroline ramble on but she chose to ignore the blonde and focus on someone far more interesting.

_Addie: Please tell me you can save me from this nightmare. Unfortunately, he's not lying. I have to play nice because of whatever the hell happened with Caroline being kidnapped by werewolves and do whatever she wants. Currently, that involves analysing you and me as a couple according to our ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS. Elena won't even let me tell her how much of a nutball she is because I'm suppose to be here smiling and doing whatever she wants to make her happy! Did you know, she checks every potential relationship she may have with astrology and if it doesn't read well, she doesn't give the guy a shot?_

**Damon: Oooh. Sorry, Ads. Sounds painful. How do we read?**

_Addie: It's a load of made up horsecrap generalized enough to fit anybody if you look at it hard enough. It's not even worth repeating. _

**Damon: You're so mean. Lucky for me the internet knows all. I'll just look it up myself =P**

Caroline was still rambling, not noticing Addie's lapse in attention. "'Your Scorpio will be in control when it come to sex and you probably won't have any complaints about that.' Actually, that is one area where Damon is very skilled and gifted," the vampire smirked.

Addie could have gone without the reminder that Caroline had already slept with the guy who couldn't sleep with her. Her face scrunched up in disgust, much like Bonnie's, "Gross. No one wants to know that."

Caroline shrugged and carried on, "'This is a partner who will tempt you to do all sorts of things that a less passionate lover wouldn't, and very likely raise the bar in terms of what you expect from sex. He-'"

"Can we drop the subject of my little sister's nonexistent sex life with Damon, please?" Elena interrupted, getting tired of hearing about how perfect Addie and Damon were for each other.

"I agree!" Addie exclaimed, raising her hand in the air as if whether or not to continue the topic was up for a vote.

"Fine," consented Caroline, "don't give Damon a second chance and never experience the best sex of your life."

Bonnie and Elena were both quick to chastise Caroline, "She's fourteen!"

Caroline's bright eyes narrowed at Elena, "Hypocrite."

"I'm not getting with Damon for sex," Addie voiced, breaking the awkward silence that was brewing.

"No. You're right. You should be with Damon because he is 'secretive, stubborn, and volatile' while you are 'analytical, intellectual, and sometimes overly critical' but at the end of the day you both 'value solitude, alone time, and can be very unsociable.' That screams Addie and Damon. You're attracted to his 'rambunctious and intense energy' and he needs your 'loyalty and practicality.' In fact, your 'mutual need for emotional security fosters extreme loyalty to one another.' No offense but you are both so many kinds of emotionally unstable that only someone just as unhinged would be compatible with either one of you. Ok, this part might not be so true: 'when an argument arises, Virgo is adaptable enough to take a step backwards and not allow a fight to take place.' You're actually very stubborn and don't back down easily. You like fighting."

Addie rolled her eyes, biting back a smile. That Addie tried to avoid fights was probably the truest thing Caroline said. Elena had been right; she enjoyed getting a rise out of Damon but she never liked truly fighting with him.

"One last bit, 'What's the best aspect of the Virgo-Scorpio relationship? It's their ability to carry out goals when they put their minds to the task. When Scorpio realizes that Virgo is an asset and a leveling force in their life, this relationship will grow. Mutual determination and organization makes theirs a harmonious relationship.' Basically, give Damon a real chance! At least tell me you'll consider it. You could be missing out on something great!" Caroline begged.

Addie nodded, if just to shut her friend up and get her off the topic. "Don't see how anyone could ever have a relationship with someone as 'volatile' as Damon and it still be considered harmonious but sure, I'll consider it, Caroline."

"What does it say about Stefan and me?"

* * *

How Bonnie and Elena managed to sleep through Caroline's snoring, Addie would never understand. She wasn't certain if it was the noise the other girl was making or the fact that the floor was acting as her mattress that prevented her from sleeping despite being deliriously tired. There was room on the bed with the other three girls if they squeezed tight but Addie wasn't fond of having her personal space being violated. Underneath her pillow her phone buzzed.

**Damon: Normally I don't buy into this crap but according to our astrological sign the odds are ASTROnomically in our favor =P How the slumber party?**

_Addie: Very funny. Everyone else is slumbering. I can't sleep._

**Damon: Why not? You should be passed out. You've slept for an hour in how long? **

_Addie: About 40 hours I wish you were here; you're more entertaining than my own thoughts and these three sleeping logs._

**Damon: But mostly because you miss me**

_Addie: No. I just saw you._

**Damon: Doesn't mean you don't miss me already**

_Addie: Fine._

**Damon: Aww! You're so sweet. I miss you, too.**

She smiled to herself; at least she wasn't the only one missing someone. She wished she could see him though.

_Addie: What happened today? With Caroline and the werewolves?_

**Damon: ...long story. I don't really want to discuss it in text. I'll tell you when I see you. Or you'll hear it from someone else first.**

_Addie: When will I see you?_

**Damon: As soon as I'm able to see you**

_Addie: Now?_

**Damon: I'd love to see you now but you're a little busy**

_Addie: Yes, busy not sleeping. Everyone else is passed out. I could sneak out._

It took Damon ten minutes to respond, which was annoying since he had been giving rapid fire answers. Addie was beginning to wonder if he had fallen asleep when her phone buzzed again.

**Damon: Come on. I'm waiting.**

Addie had to stop and wonder if he was serious. It was Damon; of course he would show up in the middle of the night. She slowly inched the zipper of her sleeping bag down so the sound wouldn't wake Bonnie. The other two would sleep through any noises she made. Quietly, she got up from the pile of blankets that were her makeshift bed and crawled to the door a few feet away and slipped on her fuzzy blue slippers. At the front door, she pulled aside the curtain and saw that Damon was, indeed, standing out there, his hands resting in his jacket pockets. Addie twisted the doorknob open and carefully opened the door just enough so she could slip outside.

She couldn't help but laugh at the cheeky grin he gave her. It was dark but she could see a shine in his eyes. With one finger pressed to his lips, Damon grabbed her hand and led her to the side of the house. He trapped her between the house and himself and smirked. Before Addie could say anything his lips crashed into hers. He relished in the feeling of how warm and silky her lips were beneath his.

Damon was quick to deepen the kiss, his teeth nipping at her bottom lip and worrying it. His arm slipped around her waist, supporting her and pulling her closer when her knees buckled and she let out a soft moan. When he was he certain she could support herself, he pulled his arm from around her waist and grabbed her free hand in his. With both of hers in his he pushed her lightly against the wall. Pinning her hands to the side of the side of her head. The intensity and change in tone of the kiss immediately changed. His kiss became hard and fast, needy and desperate.

Their tongues began a duel for power over the kiss. Damon already had her pushed up against wall and had her hands, twitching with the desire to feel him, in his control. There was no way Addie was going to let him have complete control over her. But he had a lot more experience and actually knew what he was doing. Damon caught her off guard, giving up in the battle of tongues and quickly bit at her bottom lip before she could respond. He pulled at it, sinking his teeth just a little bit deeper when he heard her whimper. Blood raced through her veins, her pulse elevated. Addie's chest brushed against his frequently with her shallow breathing. A quick look showed him her hands balled into to fist. He'd won. He let go of her lip and gave her a quick victory peck. He let go of her hands and they immediately wrapped around him in a hug. His arms encircled her shoulders hugging her back.

Something was wrong, Addie decided, He was still acting _different_. Although, Controlling Damon was kind of hot. She grinned up at him, hoping he couldn't see her concern, "You came."

"Any time, any place, any reason. Just say the word and I will be there," answered Damon, his voice slightly lower than usual. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Addie rolled her eyes, "I wasn't being serious."

"Interesting," he murmured, "I guess I let my personal desire to be with you mess with my understanding of jokes."

"I'm just surprised that you came over here. I _was _joking but I did really want to see you, though. I didn't like how we parted ways earlier. I don't like being upset with you; especially when I know you're going to go off and not make the wisest choice because then I worry about you and I think if something happens…. Like tonight, if the last thing between us was parting on cool terms because of Uncle John and, I kind of gathered that tonight wasn't exactly safe for you, what would I…," she trailed off, not even wanting to think about it.

Damon rested his forehead against hers and shaking it from side to side even though he agreed with her. "Yeahhh. That wasn't good, the way we left things to day. Tonight with the - actually, it doesn't matter. I don't want us to be parting with either of us upset or angry."

"I agree," sighed Addie resting her head against his shoulder. He placed a feather light kiss at her temple. In the shadow by the light of the moon they stood there for several moments simply holding each other close. Eventually, Addie let out a bitter snort, "Do you realize all the unrealistic expectations we're putting on this relationship?"

"Yep," Damon answered without even taking a second to consider her question, "but I do think that we are two individuals who are a bit unrealistic. You're an anal perfectionist and I'm probably far too confident for my own good. Obviously we're going to set the bar pretty high. I'm sure we're not always going to measure up to the expectations we set. However, if we both keep fighting for us when we fall short, then we will make it through _not_ being in our ideal relationship. You know I'm a pretty damn persistent guy when my heart is set on something or someone and I'm more than set on you, Ads. And you have got to be one of the most stubborn people I have come across in my life. If you want something bad enough, you get it.

"That's where you're smarter than me; I have to have what I want every time i want something but you stock up on energy and ammo and only spend it on the things you _really _want. That's why I can never beat you when you choose to fight. The closest I've come to getting my way when you've wanted yours is us finally being together and that was only after I lost the same battle 100 times. Even that, you had to come around to wanting me. I've been told I'm wrapped around your finger and if I do end up that way, so what? But right now I'm not; it looks like it but the truth is that I just can't fight you. God, I have been spending far too much time with you."

Addie pulled slightly away from him so she could look up into his face. Curious, she inquired, "You know you said that outloud, right?"

"Uh," there were a lot of things running through Damon's mind that he hoped he hadn't vocalized. "That I've been around you too much?" he guessed. Her raised eyebrows and pinched llps demanded an explanation. "It's not a bad thing. I love spending time with you. I wish I could spend _more_ time with you, Ads. I've just start picking up some of your… habits. Like just now and how I ended up way off topic and far from my original point. Oh! You know what's the most annoying thing I've picked up? _Running my hand through my hair when something's wrong._"

Burring her face in his chest, Addie couldn't help the stream of giggles that escaped her, "That's hilarious."

"It is not!"

"Considering you spend more time on your hair than I do on mine and then you go and unconsciously mess it up is extremely hilarious, Damon. For me, it's like aloe vera on a sunburn. For you, though, I bet it just pisses you off and whatever is bothering you is just made worse because once you do it, you have to deal with the fact that you're hair is screwed up," Addie snickered, trying to control her laughter.

"Hence the reasoning it's annoy as hell," snapped Damon, as if it was somehow her fault that he had picked up this little quirk of hers. Still, he held her tighter to him.

Addie couldn't help but smile at him; he really did look kind of adorable with his bottom lip slightly jutted out and his eyebrows scrunched up. Damon was pouting. Sort of. It was kind of a cross with his scowling face. He didn't have puppy dog eyes but it worked for him. At least it worked on her. "Since it upsets you so much, I'll tell you my secret on resisting the temptation when I have to have my hair styled for something or pulled back for track meets. You keep your hands busy. I usually wear a ring, bracelet, rubber band, or hair tie, something inconspicuous, so I can just slip the item off and play with it."

Damon rolled his eyes and scoffed at her idea, "Sure, good plan. Let me just go dig in my _jewelry box _that plays Fur Elise and has a tiny ballerina that spins around when I open it."

"Fine," she shrugged with a smirk, "if you don't want my advice, deal with messy hair."

A low, deep rumble emitted from his throat and he struck quickly. Damon's hand cupped the back of Addie's head, both to pull her closer into his bruising kiss and to protect her head when he backed her up against the side of the house again, slightly rougher than before. He had caught her by surprise again. He wasn't exactly playing fair tonight. Addie dropped her arms from around him and slid both her hands up into his perfectly positioned dark locks. Just to annoy him, she made sure tug, pull and generally mess it up as much as possible, confusing him between groans of passion and growls of annoyance. She wasn't exactly in much of a position to get much revenge but Addie worked with what she could. Payback was a bitch.

Damon twisted her hair around his fingers and tugged, perhaps slightly harder than he usually would have, making her head tilt back, giving him perfect access to her neck. He worked his way down the exposed skin, biting at every spot. Her moans and whimpers grew as he allowed himself to bite harder. Damon felt her start to slip from under him so he pressed his hips into her and put a hand on her hip, keeping her in place.

Addie was confused; one second she was tempted to push Damon off of her, wondering wondering what the hell had gotten into and the next she was was trying to him pull him in closer, enjoying his ministration at her neck too much to want him to stop. She felt his fangs descend and scrape across her throat. For a second, she wondered if he would do it. He seemed to be weighing the question, too, taking soft, little nips, not hard enough for his fangs to break skin. She would let him; it wouldn't hurt except for a second. And the venom, it was… it was magical; she'd had such an amazing dream. But there was something wrong. She felt his teeth further apart this time; he was going for it.

"Stop! Damon, no!" exclaimed Addie, both of her hands pushing at his throat. It was more sensitive so maybe he would respond quicker.

A voice was calling to him. Her voice. Damon groaned, easing up from the pressure he was applying to her neck. He dropped his forehead to her shoulder. His breath was shallow and labored as he fought back the bloodlust. A long stream of colorful vocabulary ran through marred his thoughts. Realizing he was still pushing his hips into her, he pulled back and turned away from Addie. Damon raked his fingers through his hair pulling at the ends of it. He dropped his head in shame and guilt; he couldn't believe he had gone that far. What was wrong with him today?

"Addie, I am so, so, so, so sorry," he apologized profusely.

She took a few steps toward him and rested her hand on his leather clad bicep and squeezed gently. Of course he would think he'd done something wrong. "You don't need to apologize, Damon. I would have let you but you said... you said you can't."

Damon looked up to the cloudy sky and shook his head in disbelief, "How the hell did I forget about that? Drink your blood and I set off the worse allergic reaction of all time."

"What's going on, Damon?" asked Addie, feeling guilty and unhelpful.

"I just… I'm distracted. Very distracted, apparently," he mumbled.

She pulled at his arm, trying to get him to turn around. "Talk to me. That's why I'm here."

If only it was as simple as just talking to her. He shook his head again, running his hand over his face. "This isn't the time or place for this discussion."

"Well, when and where is the right time to discuss it? Something is eating away at you, badly. It's been obvious ever since you showed up."

He ran his hand through his hair again.

Addie smiled slightly, "You really have picked that up."

Damon chuckled bitterly, turning around to face her, "Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't joke about it. You've grown on me."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on the tips of her toes and gave him a feather light kiss. Using one shoulder for balance, she grabbed his chin to make him look at her. She tried to be gentle but firm with him, "And you've grown on me. Which is why it really bothers me to see you like this. When will we discuss this? If you're distracted enough to slip up like that with me…. The idea of you around John, Elijah, Elijah's witch, and a bunch of werewolves really scares me."

"It's not affecting me like that. You don't have to worry. I'm sharp as a tack whenever there's even the slightest possibility of trouble," he reassured her. Although, Damon wasn't really certain about this. He hadn't really been in more than one threatening situation to test this theory since he had only recently become so distracted and he physically couldn't have done anything about the trouble he was in when he first became so. Dr. Martin had kind of saved his ass at that point.

Addie rolled her eyes, "Didn't we already talk about lying today?"

His face betrayed his obvious guilt, "Technically you got mad about me lying when we both know I'm lying. I actually thought you would believe that. Plus, it _could _be true."

"If you're distracted enough to become careless with me and almost choke yourself on my blood, you're not on your A-game around everyone. Why did you come over here, Damon? I sent a stupid text and you came running. Why?" she implored, hoping his answer would help explain what is going on.

Damon rubbed awkwardly at the back of her neck, "It sounds worse than it is. I needed a distraction. Now I realize that probably wasn't a really good idea when you're what I need a distraction from."

"What?" Addie whispered in shock. "Why? What did I do?"

He shook his head, grabbing her hands, "You didn't do anything. Look, I told you now isn't isn't when we should be discussing this."

"When then? I really don't like being the cause of you being so bothered because of me."

Damon shrugged evasively, "Same time and place we have all our important talks: in the dark of night in one our beds."

"Great," Addie grinned. "Just let me get my things and we can go have our discussion."

"Ads," he sighed.

"Nuh-uh. No nickname for you until you talk," she said with a frown, walking backwards to the house. Damon still held her hand and followed her.

He sighed, not in the mood for a fight, "You can't come. You're at a sleepover. What happens when they wake up and you're missing?"

"There's these snazzy little devices called phones. I _could_ wait for Elena to call me tomorrow morning or I could do a preemptive strike and leave a text on her phone so that when she goes to call, she see that I had Jeremy come and get me because I didn't feel good. Then I send a text to my brother telling him to cover for me, even though I don't really need to; he'd cover for me in any case. So, I'm going to go do that and get my stuff while you nut up and find the courage to talk," Addie smiled sweetly.

Staring up at the moon that peaked out between clouds, Damon alternated between rubbing his hand over his face and running his fingers through his hair. How the hell was he going to get out of this? There was no way he was ready to say what he was thinking. Addie definitely wasn't ready to hear it. She'd either completely dismiss him, mock him, flea, or some combination. He wasn't sure what was the worst case.

Addie came out a few minutes later, still in her tanktop and running short but this time in actual shoes instead of slippers. Purposefully, she walked to Damon's car. When she realized that Damon hadn't followed, Addie looked back at him expectantly. He hadn't moved from where he stood, hands shoved in the front pockets of his jeans, his eyes looking towards the sky.

Damon frowned, feeling Addie's eyes on him, "You don't want to have this discussion, Addie."

"I didn't realize your powers include mind reading. I want to have this conversation. Come on, vampire boy. Time's awasting," Addie chripped, impatiently tugging at the locked passenger door. If anything would get his butt moving it would be rough handling of his baby.

"Fine," he grumbled, swiftly walking to her, "just don't take out your anger on the car,"

"I'm not angry," she snipped, getting slightly upset that he implied she was angry. "I'm just looking for answers."

"You are too damn curious about the wrong things," Damon muttered to himself, unlocking the door and holding it open for her.

The ride back to the boarding house was quick and silent. Addie was fairly certain Damon broke a few traffic laws. Considering he didn't want to talk, he wasn't exactly taking his time and stalling. Though she suspected it might have been nerves that caused him to drive so recklessly, judging by the twitching in his jaw.

Damon parked the car and was opening her door before she could blink. With a small smile he held out his hand to her. Addie took it and let him help her out of the car. He grabbed her backpack from the floorboard and slung it over his shoulder. Unusually quiet, Damon led her to the house, interlocking their fingers. Taking his cooperation as a good sign, Addie decided to just follow his lead.

He unlocked the door to let them in and locked the door behind Addie. Her hand hand still in his, they were halfway up the stairs when a voice stopped them.

"The slumber party is at _Caroline's_, not here," Stefan said sternly, his arms crossed over his chest and looking at them in disapproval.

Addie threw a dirty look at Damon, "I told you to tell him about the change in venue!"

"And I told you that he's not invited," Damon quipped back snarkily, not missing a beat.

"You can't have a party at your own house and not invite your own brother," chastised Addie.

Damon's brows furrowed in thought, "I'm pretty sure you can when he's a fun sucker."

"I don't think I want to join in your _party_," Stefan said, a disturbed look on his face. "Seriously, though, you guys need to behave."

Damon's tone was one of offense and outrage, "How dare you think I would be anything less than a perfect gentleman!"

"It's true," Addie nodded. "He saved me from a wicked bitch whose goal in life is to try and destroy mine and make sure I never know peace or happiness. You may have heard of her. Elena aka the actress better known for the things that she does on a mattress? It's truly unsettling having a room next to her."

Damon nodded, enjoying the red on Stefan's face, "I was really playing the black knight. For once, I have no intentions less than honorable. You go back to brooding; we're gonna go play strip poker."

Addie gave Damon her best pout and whined, "You said we could play strip chess."

He rolled his eyes dramatically and shrugged, "Fine. Strip whatever you want. I'm going to win either way."

"I can't determine if you guys are serious or joking," Stefan debated a confused look on his face.

"Be serious, Stefan. Do you actually think I'm stupid enough to do either of those things?" retorted Addie. "The correct answer is no because I know you're brother is going to find some way to cheat." Addie continued to follow Damon, who was tugging at her arms for her to continue up the stairs. After a few steps she turned back to the scowling vampire and added, "Stop being so sour; you're almost as bad as Elena. We tried the dating thing. We just do better as close friends. It's innocent and harmless."

Damon ushered Addie into his room and went to turn on the sound machine on his dresser before speaking. "I thought we were being evasive but not lying," he said as casually as possible, pulling a crystal decanter of scotch and a glass from the top draw and pouring himself twice as much as he normally would. He was, admittedly, still slightly feeling the effects from the fair bit he had to drink before seeing Addie but he wasn't feeling calm or confident enough to have the conversation she was pushing for.

Addie nodded slowly leaning against one of his bed post. It wasn't that she wanted to lie; it was just so much easier. She didn't want to offend him to explain, "That is what I wanted to do. I completely checked out at Caroline's place thinking about you. Those girls are _really_ annoying; it reminds me why I don't like people. They wouldn't leave me alone until I told them what I was thinking about so I told them I was thinking about you. There was a range of judgement at that, from Bonnie practically wanting to denounce our friendship to Caroline practically planning our wedding. I couldn't tell what Elena was thinking; probably some mixture of disappointment, anger and frustration. I'm not really certain of Elena's feeling surrounding you or you and me at the moment; I haven't been keeping up to date with her diary. At some point you get tired of all the pretentiousness and she's really not worth dealing with. Anyway, all of them felt they had to weigh in on whether or not I should go out with you again, like what you and I wanted didn't matter. It was seriously like my opinion on if I wanted a relationship with you meant nothing.

"I know everyone is alway going to judge no matter who I date. I don't really care about that. However, you're inside this group of people working towards a common goal and associate with each other frequently. I'd call it friends but I don't think you'd appreciate that. With both of us being inside this group, I think other people are of the opinion that they should get a say in what happens because if it turns out bad between us, it could potentially affect everyone. I doubt everyone would be so interested if I was dating John Doe from marching band.

"I'd rather just act how we want around people but deny any ideas or accusations of us being together until _we _are more certain of what this really is between us and where we stand. Right now, we've really just been all talk. We haven't really been together. Right now Stefan knows you came and picked me up in the middle of the night. He knows I'm up here and that we're going to share a bed tonight. If he thinks something more is going on, that's his problem. I already made it clear that if he does think something is up, he'd best keep it to himself because he's not getting any more information from either one of us. I don't care if people speculate or whisper behind our backs; I just don't want anyone confronting me about it and judging us to my face."

Damon tossed back the rest of his drink, the alcohol giving a familiar, reassuring burn. Normally he's care that she'd gone back on her word and now decided she had a problem being judged for being with him but tonight he just couldn't be bothered. He wandered into his closet to get undress. He debated showering, even though he had just two hours ago. It would put off having to discuss this. She called to him as he was undoing his jean. Damon kicked them of and tossed them in the hamper before coming back out and looking at her wearily. His voice was defeated and tired, "Whatever you want, Addie."

She rolled her eyes and undid her converse as he flicked of the light. Addie crawled into bed on her side. It had been so long since she had been in it that she had forgotten how comfortable it was. He must have bought new sheets as she'd never seen these; they were navy and felt like a billion thread count of cotton. Damon slipped into bed next to her and laid staring up at the ceiling. Addie wanted nothing more to curl up against him but she didn't think it would be a very good idea.

"What _did_ you catch from Stefan when he was talking about tonight," asked Damon after several minutes of silence.

"I, uh, well," Addie cringed, stalling, "he got to the point where you showed up and decided to let him try his bargaining before resorting to your more physical approach to rescuing Caroline then a whole pack showed up…. You were safe. Caroline was safe. I didn't want or need to hear anymore."

Damon posed another question in confusion, "Why tune out there? That's when it actually gets interesting."

Addie's lips pursed tensely, "I think we have different definitions for that. I didn't want to hear about you doing something flat out idiotic, like picking a fight with a pack of werewolves or hear about you getting hurt."

"They had no intention of letting me and Stefan walk out of there anyways. I was already on their hitlist for killing Mason."

"That doesn't mean I want to hear about you taunting your way into a death match," snapped Addie, annoyed that he didn't take his life more seriously.

"For once, I didn't. Stefan and I were clearly outmatched. I might have antagonized them if they didn't have a flame thrower. I played nice and handed Tyler over. Thinking about it, it's slightly possible that I was a little too proud when I admitted to killing Mason," reflected Damon. "They weren't to happy about that."

Addie rolled her eyes, "Yeah, you go around killing enough people you're eventually going to piss the wrong person off. You were surround by a group ready to attack and you still had to worry about your pride?"

Damon tried to think of a counter argument but he couldn't come up with a good one. "You get irrationally upset about Elena; I get irrationally proud around werewolves."

"I feel stupid for even acknowledging that lameass response."

Damon ignored her and continued retelling the night's events, "We actually kind of had them until that bitch wolf who has it out for me grazed my heart it a wooden bullet. That kind of really knocked me out of action. At that point I didn't know Stefan had been stabbed in the back but I couldn't hear anyone fighting so I had to guess he was down for count. Then the guy who I had briefly knocked out and was about to rip his heart out when I got hit regained consciousness. That was pretty bad -"

She clamped her hands hard over her ears and repeated, "Don't want to know. Don't want to know. Don't want to know. Don't. Want. To. Know."

Sighing, Damon rolled towards Addie. Her eyes were squeezed tight as if trying to block out a bad image. It took some strength to pull her hands from her ears and replaced them on his neck. "I'm ok, Ads. I'm perfectly fine," he said in a soft but authoritative voice. Her hands gripped tighter at him, as if checking that he really was there and her face relaxed a little. He brushed his lips over hers and whispered comfortingly, "Everything is alright." Slowly, she opened her eyes, as he stroked hair out of her face. He smiled slightly and she gave him a weak nod. He rolled back onto his side but she still kept her hands around his neck, turning with him. His

voice was was a bit unsteady for the first time that night, "Truth is, I didn't want to know either."

Addie didn't care about what he wanted any more. She pulled herself closer to him, buried her face in his chest and captured one of his legs between hers. When Damon wrapped his arms around her, holding Addie close to him, she felt a little better. It wasn't fair of him to make her imagine him being really hurt or, more likely, much worse.

"Dr. Martin showed up and saved the day. I guess he did that witchy thing that Bonnie is so fond of using on me. He managed to use it on all the werewolves except Tyler until they passed out. The guy has some major juice. The winning part? He was there because Elijah made a promise to Elena and he was seeing it through," Damon scowled, reluctant to tell her the last past. He wasn't certain how much Addie trusted Elijah and he didn't want to give her any reason to trust him. However, she would find out from someone how his ass was saved and if it wasn't from him then she was going to start thinking he was hiding things. He _was_ but he'd rather her stay in the dark about some things. Like the dagger from John to kill an Original.

Addie reflected on this important detail. Elijah had presented himself as a noble man of his words and at the first test he had proven that he was currently upholding his end. The one thing that bothered her was that he didn't make an appearance in the saving. He wasn't exactly making 100% sure that the people she cared about were safe if he was trusting someone else to save them. Even if Dr. Martin had the power, Elijah still should have escorted him. "I don't care how you got out of it," she responded, her words slightly muffled as she was talking into his chest. "I'm just grateful you did."

"Ah, well, it's been awhile since I've had a brush with death. I figured I was long overdue for one," joked Damon, trying to lighten the mood.

Addie groaned and held onto him tighter.

"What?"

"That's not funny to me. I get you like living life on the edge and pushing boundaries but that doesn't mean I have to like it or be ok with the idea of you coming out on the worse end in one of your brushes with death," Addie huffed.

Damon frowned, "But I have some of my most profound thoughts and revelations then."

"I'm not telling you what to do. I'd just rather not know about it."

"Ok," he consented, "I'll only tell you on a need to know basis from now on."

She pressed a soft his against his bare sternum, "Thank you. You're little tale about tonight was a nice way to stall but did you really think you could distract me from why I'm here, Damon?"

"No," he sighed heavily, "but a guy can hope."

Addie wasn't giving up and persisted, "So, what is it?"

"I've only had a few hours to try and grasp and understand this, Ads. I'm not ready to talk to you about it yet. I still need to figure out how I feel about it," objected Damon, untangling himself from her and rolling onto his back.

_That totally didn't feel like a slap in the face_, Addie thought sarcastically. If simply asking wasn't going to work, she'd just have to reason with him. "If I'm distracting you then maybe I should know about it so I can stop doing whatever is so distracting."

Damon shook his head slowly and frowned, "It's not anything you're doing. I'm just… this is something I need to understand on my own. You are probably the last person I would want help from on this. No offense."

"Offense taken, anyway. I'm distracting you but I'm the last person you'd want help from? If it's something like you don't want to be together or it's something you're just considering, you can tell me. I'm not going to get all upset and if it's just a matter of you figuring out what you want, who better than me to help you? I'm the only one who can tell you what I'm able to offer."

"It's nothing like that, Ads. I want to be with you; there is no doubt in my mind about that. If I _had_ to bet on it, I'd say I want to be with you more than you want to be with me. It's exactly because of that that I can't talk to you about this. I've run every scenario in my head and it always ends bad. We're just not at a point where I can discuss this," Damon said simply.

Addie rolled onto her stomach and rested her weight on her elbow and gave him a cold, hard stare. "I thought that was the whole reason I came over," she attempted to say in a gentle tone. Addie rested her chin in her hands and counted backwards from 10. "Just because I seem more cautious and nervous about being in a relationship with you doesn't mean that you have any right to think that you want to be in this more than I do, Damon. I have justifiable reasons to be worried. You have justifiable reasons to be concerned about being with me. A relationship is like a commodities exchanges; it only works if each party feel like they're getting a fair deal. We have to both equally want this."

"You seriously just tried to rationalize a relationship as an economic exchange," scoffed Damon in exasperation. "When are you going to realize that life doesn't work in a rational way? You're not going to be able to logically explain everything. Life is ruled by emotions and most of the time, they're very irrational."

"Maybe but a partnership, a relationship, can be rationalized. Would either one of us be in this if we didn't feel like we weren't getting a fair deal? If we felt the other was taking too much or not giving enough?" challenged Addie.

Damon raised an eyebrow at her and his lips twitched bitterly, "Wouldn't exactly be the first time I've been that kind of relationship."

Addie rolled her eyes in annoyance. Why did he have to be so frustrating? "That's because you let yourself be controlled by irrational emotions. I think you've learned your lesson."

"That's the big question," Damon mused, more to himself, "I'm not certain I have."

A contemplative look too over his face for several minutes while Addie tried to work out what he had meant. Afraid of his answer, she meekly asked, "Do you feel like I'm taking advantage of you?"

He shook his head slowly but it didn't seem like he was going to offer any more information as he was lost in his own mind.

"Am I taking too much? Not giving enough?"

Damon's lips pressed into a hard line and Addie knew she had hit something. She decided to wait a few minutes to see if he would answer and he did. "It's nothing to worry about. At least, not for now."

"No, now is the time confront it and worry about it instead of just leaving it alone and letting it grow into a much bigger problem."

"Who says it won't work itself out?"

"Things never do that. Name one time when they did," Addie dared, pausing for half a second to give him a chance to answer. "See? You can't! Ergo, I suggest we take my approach."

His bright eyes narrowed as he scrutinized her, trying to get a read on her mood. He couldn't tell, particularly in the dark, and he didn't want to take a chances. "I don't think so. I'm not in the mood for a fight. It's already been a very long, emotional day."

"Why do you think everything has to be a fight or a power struggle?" Addie wondered out loud. "I think we're capable of having a cool, rational discussion. You're not the only one running on backup power. I don't want to fight either."

If she decided to change her mind about fighting after he told her, Damon wouldn't be surprised. He commented off-handedly, "You're still very guarded and not willing to share much about yourself. Meanwhile, I'm doing my best to share with you and trying to breakdown the walls I built around myself for you."

Denying his accusation would have been a lie and Addie was doing her best not to do that with him. Admitting he was right validated his point and she didn't exactly want him to be right about being upset over this. There wasn't anything she could say that would make everything alright. She thought about it it for a few minutes before slipping from his bed. The laminated wood was cold under her feet. Desperate to get back to the warmth of the bed, she quickly made her way to the backpack Damon had dropped by the dresser and fished around in it for her iPod. Finding it, she scampered back onto the bed and sat criss crossed facing Damon, staring down at the device. Nausea swept over her. It was a long shot but she was desperate. He needed to understand that just because she wasn't being so forthcoming, Addie was still letting him in.

His staring at her wasn't making things any easier. Her mouth felt like cotton and her voice cracked when she finally found the nerves to say, "I, um, need your help with something. You told me you'd _proofread_ my song before I submitted it. I've already sent some off for summer programs around the States but I can't decide between two for the London program and the deadline is Friday. Do I go with the one that I've been working on for weeks or the one that I threw together last night? I mean, I see the pros and cons in each one and I can't figure out which song does a better job of showing off my skills. The sensible thing to do would to make a new song that doesn't have any cons but I have no idea how long that would take and I'm going to find a flaw with everything I make. I was extremely proud of the one from last night but the I listened to the one I spent weeks on and I heard things that that were missing from the other one. But the one from last night just flows better and is more natural because I didn't have to force it out and it -I can't tell which is better! And I can't just take the good parts from both because they're two different types of songs and it's not like I can blend the features. One has better engineering skills displayed but it's -"

Damon had reached up and clapped his hand over her mouth. "You're rambling," he pointed out obviously. "It's annoying. Addie, I don't have to hear them. I know your music is sacred to you. Don't feel pressured into sharing it with me."

She pushed his hand away and took a deep breath, exhaling loudly. "No, I want to share them with you. Here," she said holding a pair of earbuds out to him. "There's some oscillation so you either need headphones or a set of left and right speakers for the full effect. Neither one displays half of what I can really do but a lot of times flashiness is overrated. I mean, if I really wanted to, I could make you think the sound was coming from behind you. At first I was playing around with some really awesome auditory hallucination effects but then I thought probably wasn't a good idea. So then I switched back to a more traditional style. I could settle on what kind of genre I wanted to write because I really do mix it up in my-"

His hand went back over her mouth as he rolled his eyes. "You're rambling, again."

Addie nodded and brought the iPod up to eye level and scrolled through the thousands of songs for the one that she had just added that morning. Her heart raced as her thumb hovered over the song, hesitant to start it. "Um, don't pay attention to the vocals. I'm not really that good of a singer; there just kind of there to show that I can work with them. This one I currently have it titled as 'Believe' but I may change that but I guess that's not really important. I'm just gonna play the song, now."

She watched his face for any sign of what he thought as Damon listened to the song (youtu.

be/jYVCuD9EUPk for those of you who are curious) but it was blank and impassive. They only thing he did was roll the headphone cable between his thumb and index finger. After what felt like hours, and Addie was pretty sure the song was not that long, he looked to her and nodded twice. "Ok. Next one?"

"Ok?" repeated Addie her mouth dropping open. "Ok? God, I'm more delusional than you! I've been sending out pieces thinking they're decent and at least some of the lesser known programs I have a chance but my stuff is just ok?" She buried her face in her hands, groaning. Air seemed thinner and harder breath. Her heart felt like it was going at million beats per minute and actually slamming into her chest.

Though Addie was visibly on the verge of a panic attack, Damon couldn't help but roll his eyes. He would never understand how she could be so cool, rational, and even more detached than he was from some fairly emotional things and yet other things would send her jumping to irrational conclusions. Sighing, Damon sat up and tried to pull her hands away from her face as she was choking and gasping into them. He was a little surprised at how strong she was when she tried to resist him. At least an hour of weight training was required by her track coach to balance with the cardio but he had kind of thought that was a joke; apparently not. Then he noticed something for the first time that day, rather a lack of something. Addie wasn't wearing the leather vervain bracelet from Elena. That didn't necessarily mean she wasn't on it but he was going to be a little pissed if his little trick worked.

Damon caught her jaw in his hand and forced her to look him in the eye as tears threaten to flow from hers and she continued to take deep heaving breaths. He could have used a softer, gentler tone but if she _was_ on vervain, there was the possibility that being firm and authoritative would snap her back into reality. Not that she ever did what he said, so why would she start now. Briefly considering the moral implications, Damon ordered, "Calm down, Addison." It took a minute or two but she eventually, just occasionally taking a deep, shaky breath and wiping at her eyes. His lips pressed into a hard line; he didn't exactly want to know but he need to. "Are you on vervain?" Damon had to drop his hand from her face and crumpled the comforter when she shook her head no. "Why not?" he ground out.

His hand dropping from her face had broken his control over her though and she was looking at his chest rather than his face. "Well, I obviously can't trust _you_ not to compel me. Doesn't seem like I can trust you anymore than when I first met you," spat Addie.

He shrugged, knowing it wasn't a good idea to get into a fight if he could compel her. "I don't trust myself not to compel you. Even when we playing Katherine's little game and you had to stop taking it, you only took of the bracelet when you needed to. Now we have an original running around who can compel _vampires_ and, well, there's the simple fact that you shouldn't trust any vampire to not compel you! Particularly one's who have a tendency to act a bit irrational."

"You should have more control over yourself when you're around me!"

"I'm sorry but was I with _your_ doppelganger tonight? I think it's pretty obvious that my self-control around you, particularly now, is around 20% controlled and 80% instinctive reaction," Damon snapped back.

Addie had to do a double take before responding, "It's seriously that low? And I'm you still let me around you? What the hell, Damon?"

Damon shrugged and raised his hands helplessly, unsure of how to explain or even justify what he was doing. "The numbers _were _inverted. I just… I'm so distracted by you now that I don't know what stupid or desperate thing I might do. That's why I need you on vervain."

She shook her head, "No, I simply shouldn't be around you if you're that likely to hurt me."

He eyes instantly softened and his shoulders slumped and sagged in defeat, guilt, and shame. "I know I was a little rough with you with you earlier and I'm sorry for hurting you, Addie. I really and truly am. I am 99% certain that I would never truly, seriously injure you, though. I wouldn't be able to live with myself... or without you. I just don't trust myself to not compel you into feeling certain things or trust myself not to hurt you if I kiss you."

Sighing, Addie grabbed Damon's hand, "I don't exactly remember complaining earlier or asking you to stop and I definitely would have if you were actually hurting me. In fact, I feel guilty because something was obviously wrong with you but I was, uh, being selfish and didn't stop you to find out what was wrong."

"No, the guilt of that is on me. I needed a distraction from what was bothering. Drinking didn't work so I tried a second coping mechanism. Well, I tried a less intense and less physical way than usual and it worked, a little too well. I almost ended up biting you. I used you as a distraction and that was wrong. I didn't even pay attention to how… intense I was. I'm sorry, Addie," apologized Damon, cradling her hand in his and gently squeezing it.

Addie rolled her eyes. He would get so caught up apologizing about the wrong things. "I don't care about that, Damon. I would have let. It's not a big deal. And I already told you earlier today that I would prefer you coming to me if something was bothering you rather than you… doing other things, If that means that you just want me to be there physically, then I'm okay with that."

"You're not supposed to be okay with any of that!"

"None of it matters to me. What matters is that you _didn't_ hurt me and when I said 'stop' you did. It was probably just because my blood is somehow poisonous and you realized that but either way, you stopped. Don't feel guilty about earlier. If you're so intent on punishing yourself be upset about what I'm upset about. You don't trust yourself to kiss me and you don't trust yourself not to manipulate my feelings. Sure, I can use vervain but you still can't kiss me. That leaves in a completely non-physical relationship usually referred to as a friendship.'

Damon was quick to start shaking his head and insistently repeated, "No, no, no, no, no, no. I don't want a friendship with you."

Addie shrugged, "It's that or you gain more self-control."

Damon threw his face into a pillow, emitting a long, whining moan. "This would all be be so much easier if I could compel you to just…. I need to take you home."

"Seriously?" Addie scoffed. "The temptation to compel me is that bad?"

Sitting back up and facing her, Damon nodded. "Yes, it is."

She couldn't believe him. He seriously had no self-control. Sighing, she offered up a compromise, "I have liquid vervain in my backpack. What if I just take that? Will that be good enough?"

Running his hand through his tousled hair, he contemplated the idea. If he just told her, he might not be so distracted and it wouldn't be controlling his every thought. Damon nodded and Addie started to turn to get off to get of the bed and get the vervain when he caught her by the wrist, pulling her back towards him. She gave him a puzzled look and he smiled at her slightly. All his doubt and nerves were suddenly gone; she wasn't going to remember this and he wasn't going to give her a chance to respond.

Damon leaned in and brushed his lips against hers before pulling away and gently told her, "Ads, I'm terrified that I'm in love with you. It hasn't worked out well for me in the past. I know it will turn out bad if I tell you now. I want nothing more than to just compel you to _believe_ in love. I don't want to make you love me. I just want you to believe it is possible so there would be a chance for you to believe _me_ and if I'm really lucky, maybe for you to come around and love me one day. I know you don't believe in love and I'm trying to do right by you and not compelling you to. But I had to tell you I'm in love with you because that is what is distracting me. Your ghostly, shocked face makes it obvious enough that you can't handle hearing this which is why you're going to forget I told you. You're going to forget everything that's happened since you started your first song. We'll come back to this when you're ready." He kissed her again, breaking off the trance.

"What was that for?" questioned Addie, confusion written all over her face.

The back of his fingers stroked at her cheek and he was certain that his face look like the one of a love struck idiot. It didn't matter. "It was a thank you for sharing your music with me. I'm going to save any comments until I've heard both of them. That's how I like to compare things," Damon clarified, not wanting a repeat reaction. He put the earbuds back in and nodded that he was ready.

It took Addie a second to find where the iPod was and had a brief moment of doubt before starting the song. Damon didn't have any response during the song. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad. When he nodded, she looked down at the iPod and saw the song was over. Scrolling through to find the next one she informed, "This one is 'Hopeless.'" (youtu.

be/VvvbxliaI_U for you curious ones again)

Damon was careful to not have a visible opinion when he removed the headphones after the last song. Cautiously, he questioned, "Can I ask one thing before I give my feedback?" She nodded slightly. "Where do you get your inspiration?"

"Lots of places," she shrugged, flushing red. "Between the drama that happens in my house, the love lives of my friends, sister, and brother, and my own overactive imagination it's hard to give any one thing full credit."

"Uh-huh. And what about your own romances? Ever draw from those?" he grinned.

Addie stammer and stumbled over the start of several words. Damon put a finger to her lip, effectively quieting her. His hand slipped to cup her cheek and he leaned in, kissing her lightly. Soon his pressure was firmer and more confident. He knew he wouldn't hurt her. He let Addie slowly push him onto his back. Her faded, oversized t-shirt had ridden slightly up her back as she leaned over him and Damon couldn't resist letting his hands wander over the exposed skin. If the skin was exposed at her back, it would be exposed at the front, Damon rationalized. He smirked, gently tugging and playing with the moon and stars that dangled from her belly button ring. She pulled out of the kiss and dropped next to him, her arm wrapped around his bare waist.

Damon kissed her forehead. "You've got it right: you can 'tell me I'm hopeless' in this thing between us."

"Yes, I did come to the profound revelation. At least 'I don't already feel like I need to break from this.'" Addie mumbled, Damon's cool skin feeling nice against her head as she felt a bad headache growing.

"Both of them are really good, Ads. I'm not exactly a music critic expert. I don't know what these scholarship people are looking for. Personally, I'm much more fond of Believe; it's much more light and positive but I think 'Hopeless' has more mass appeal and a catchier hook. Though, I thought you couldn't play guitar. How'd you get it in there?"

"That's what I was thinking," Addie nodded slowly, "but there are some better mixing skills in Believe but Hopeless is obviously has a better hook, like you said. I don't know what these people are looking for either. Believe just wasn't forced; it came naturally."

Damon ran his hand through her hair, one thing nagging at him. He had to know, "I know this is overly arrogant and extremely forward but I gotta ask; do I really make you want to believe in _everything_?"

Addie pursed her lips and looked up at Damon's ceiling. For the 100th time, she thought about how it was perfect for sticking glow-in-the-dark stars to. It was easier to think about that than deal with Damon. "Have you ever considered the idea that you're a hopeless romantic?"

"I'm not in the classical sense but yeah. Unfortunately, I am a hopeless romantic. I would have saved 145 years if I wasn't but I also wouldn't have met you. I'm still trying to decide if you were worth the wait," Damon answered seriously.

"Gotta love that dry humor," she muttered, rolling her eyes. It only made her headache worse. "I want to believe in a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. I want to believe in fairies. I want to believe a hopelessly romantic vampire and a cynical girl desperate for ordinary can conquer all odds. And yes, Damon, you make me want to believe in love. Am I actually going to believe in all of those things? No. There's a chance I'll come to believe in _us_; we haven't really been tested. But the other things? No."

"I don't understand. If you want to believe in love, why don't you? What does it hurt to not look at everything so cynically?"

"You want me to share but, Damon, you have to remember, you've had a lot longer to deal with the pain of your past than I have. You _really _want to know why I don't believe in love? I've never seen it. I can't name a single lasting couple that truly loved and were in love with each other. I believe as a little kid because I saw my parents as the perfect representation of love. Then they started fighting and it wasn't small fights like we have. I don't know how but I always ended up being exposed to it way more than Elena or Jeremy. There were problems in my family that my parents explicitly asked me to keep them from my siblings. All through that I saw my grandparents divorce after 40 years, Caroline's and Bonnie's parents split, and then my parents were going to, too. 'Love' is just a bullshit term people throw around without meaning it or even knowing what it means. What word is left for people who _aren't _going to turn on each other and actually take their marriage vows seriously? Now love is a word tossed around by teenage idiots like Elena and Stefan. Elena wouldn't do _anything and everything_ for him. 'Love' has less meaning behind it than baked potato," Addie rushed out bitterly before remembering his second question. "To not be cynical is to be trusting. Now, I've met Trust. Trust is a serious bitch. I much prefer Karma but unfortunately, he doesn't always show up at the right moment. Disappointment is a really drag and you should expect that party pooper to pop up anywhere; that way, it's always a good time when she doesn't show. Cynicism should be your best friend. Have you learned nothing from you experience with Katherine?"

Damon laughed derisively, "Of course I have. She's a bitch and and I should view _her_ cynically. I can't judge you for being a cynic; I don't trust most things or people or generally believe in the good either. I can't let all my past experience dictate my future, though; I'd even up shutting off my humanity. I'm not going to not trust you because I've been screwed over before. I'm letting myself believe in the good with you. Why won't you believe in me?"

Addie traced her thumbnail over the dark patch of hair that ran from below his bellybutton to the hem of his red American Apparel boxer. She hadn't seen him in red before. Sensing him watching her, undoubtedly with a wary look on his face, Addie repeated the process until the black, elastic band rolled under her chest rose with a deep breath to surely lecture her about _the rules_ but she quickly moved her hand to between his pectorals and interrupted any thoughts he may have had. "I don't think red's my favorite choice for you. Perhaps a navy or dark green, possibly a darker plaid if you insist on having some lighter colors; you know, if you're branching out from black. And I prefer the silky ones, not the cotton."

"Because I pick out my underwear with the idea of impressing you in mind," Damon muttered dryly, self-consciously pulling his boxers higher on his hips.

She pressed hot kisses to the side of his neck, mumbling, "Maybe you should."

Without realizing it, he turned his head slightly, allowing her better access. He sighed, meaning to roll his eyes rather than close them, "You're kidding, right? I already have a hard enough time keeping you out of my pants. The last thing I need to do is make the idea more appealing to you."

Addie hummed in thought as she nibbled at his neck, sending vibrations through him, making him grip at the blanket. "That's why you should pick ones I like," she decided, already knowing he would need an explanation. "If I like how they look on you, I'm less likely to want them off. It's common sense, Damon. Keep up."

He groaned when she bit into where his neck and shoulder met and his hand went to the back of her head, not quite holding her to him but more encouraging and guiding her. His words were filed with sharp inhales and loud exhales,"Excuse me for not, uh, following Addie logic. I'm a bit distracted at the moment. Even if I wasn't, it's still impossible to keep up with you. Million dollar idea." Damon's free hand gripped at her tone outer thighs as she sat across his lower stomach to give the other side of his neck the same cruel, deliriously delicious treatment. "You know what every guy wants to do with his girl?" he suggestively got out between hitches in his breathing. "Shop for underwear!"

She nipped at his ear and mumbled, "Your sarcasm isn't very effective when you moan it, Casanova."

Damon growled and caught her face, kissing her hand. It was a battle of wills, biting of lips and caressing of tongues. He only let her go when Damon was certain she was breathless. He smirked as she looked down at him, her chest heaving. "I groan and may give the occasional grunt. I do not beg, whimper, plead, or moan. And I forgot; underwear shopping is only fun if I'm trying to get under _your_ clothes."

"Tasteful, Damon. Your classy wit and charm is just so irresistible. How could I have possibly thought those higher pitched groans were moans. You're much too manly for that, begging, and whimpering. Pleading is redundant of begging," Addie pointed out as she buried her hands in his thick hair.

His smirk never faltering he tried to kiss her again but she dodged him. Looking at her through challenging, narrowed eyes, he asked, "You _really_ want to give me an English lesson right now? We _can _go into the finer definitions of the words and I can get the satisfaction of proving you wrong or we can go back to something much more satisfying."

"So, you're still not above being an arrogant ass," she sighed dramatically, letting her hot breath follow over his neck. He turned his head just enough that Addie understood what he wanted. Not yet.

"I couldn't give that up. What if, like my classy wit and charm, my arrogance is another thing that you find simply irresistible?" Damon shrugged innocently.

Addie shook her head, nibbling at his collarbone; she hadn't really explored this area. He had said neck so that's where she went but that was getting repetitive. HIs hand returning to the back of her head surprised Addie, causing her to accidentally bite him. Damon inhaled sharply. "Sorry," she blushed, slightly looking up at him. His eyes were so tender and full of adoration and care, making her only feel guiltier.

Damon tried to give her a cocky grin but the curious look she was giving him combined with the unfamiliar feeling of the smile, he guessed that it was one of those sappy kind that he never really wanted or expected on his face since the early days with Katherine. Ugh. He was _not_ going to think about her now, of all times. He ran Addie's hair through both his hands, framing it around her face. Damon frowned, "You have to stop thinking every time I have an unexpected reaction you've done something wrong or that you've hurt me. First, you really can't do this wrong. Second, uh, to make things terribly awkward for a moment but much less confusing in the long run, I'm use to vampire, uh, relations, which are a lot rougher than you could ever be. If you do something and I react, it's definitely not because you've hurt me. Nothing you do is going to be painful, well, at least not the bad kind of pain. Well, no, no. I can't see you actually being rough enough to cause me any pain. Me responding to you does not equate to you needing to stop and apologize. While I appreciate your concern and consideration for me, the apologizing is actually a mood killer. I don't like you feeling like you've done something wrong. Uh, get what I'm saying?"

"Do you consciously think about things before you say them or do you just let the words fly out and hope you don't screw yourself?" wondered Addie. She rested her weight on her elbows at either side of his head, leaving her fingers in his hair. No reason to deny herself the idle joy of playing with it just because she was slightly bothered by something he said.

"I think answering that either way is going to screw me," Damon responded rather wisely, in his opinion. "I obviously said something will probably turn out a lot better if you just tell me rather than me playing the guessing game and bringing up every single thing that could have possibly upset you. There's the chance that you missed something and I'd just be shooting myself in the foot if I told you."

Addie turned scarlet and shook her head, "Nevermind."

Damon shrugged and decided to use her own, compelled away words against her, "Ok, well, if you're too embarrassed to discuss us making out then we will go back to not kissing, lips or elsewhere, until you're comfortable enough to discuss this with me. Yeah, the right thing to do is to go back to being close friends."

"Fine," conceded Addie, her lips puckered and eyes narrowed in a cold glare. "Have I mentioned how much I hate you?"

"No, I don't think so. At least not today, which means you're under quota and I'm due for a reminder."

"God! You even make being upset with you annoying."

"Aww," cooed Damon, "I'm sorry. I'd offer to kiss and makeup but we're back in that whole friend stage with all kinds of weird, sexual tension. Things would get confusing"

"Why do you have to be such a dick?"

He rolled his eyes, "Wow, um, let me apologize for trying to have a healthy relationship with you. I am obviously in the wrong. We should totally do things that we can't even openly and honestly talk about. You know, I think we're ready sex."

"Ugh!" Addie exclaimed in frustration, accidently pulling sharply at the hair she had been playing with. Damon's groan was loud, really as his back slightly arched and his head pressed into Addie's hands. Quickly, she pulled away and covered her gasping mouth. "Damon, I am so, so, so, so, so, soooooo sorry. I swear I didn't mean to!"

Addie didn't even realize Damon's grip on her thighs had tightened until he loosened again. He looked at her with a challenging expression and a raised eyebrow. She went to apologize again but he cut her off and raised a halting finger, "Don't say it, Addison. I swear I will lose all attraction I have to you right now if you say it." Blinking rapidly, Damon ran one hand over his face while the other inched higher up her leg. He caught her chin and encouraged Addie to lean in and kiss him. It didn't surprise him when she was gentle and hesitant but he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Before she could pull back, Damon was guiding her to leave her forehead against his.

"You know," he murmured, taking a chance to glance down her top and at the swell of her breast. Damon was certain he had some problem look at her chest but for the life of him, he couldn't remember; he just wanted to feel what promised to be perky, firm boob. He was supposed to be saying something. "You know, I was kidding about the sex."

She scoffed, "Where you just looking down my shirt?"

He nodded, "Most definitely."

"I - you don't - whatever! I'm not even going to try and understand your apparently on-off hang-up," Addie huffed, annoyance obvious in her tone. "I know you were kidding about the sex!"

"Then please, pray tell exactly way you felt the need to turn me on." She looked at him confused and he couldn't resist the eye roll. "I was obviously wrong; you can play rough. Unfortunately it seems you have to be pissed with me to do so which doesn't really do me any good though. However, you are insanely, irresistibly sexy when you do play," he finished lowly, his voice full of lust.

"Shut up," muttered Addie as she flushed in embarrassment and shoved her face between his shoulder and pillow.

Damon gathered up the mass of hair on the side of her neck that faced him and placed it over the opposite shoulder. He whispered against the newly exposed skin before kissing it, "Your wish, my command, love."

Surely he hadn't said what she thought he did. Then she replayed the words over and over trying to substitute words she could have possibly misunderstood. She stiffened as reality sunk in and Addie was forced to accept that Damon had just called her 'love.' Zero ideas came to her as she scrambled for possible ways to handle the situation. Maybe it was just something he said out of arousal and she wouldn't have to deal with it again.

Damon continued to place soft kisses along her neck as he tried to figure out the best way to make her comfortable again. Stupid freudian slips. For a minute he'd thought he'd gotten away with it. Then he felt her stiffen. He couldn't help but think that if she wasn't clawing at his shoulders and pressing herself harder onto him, more blood would be flowing to his head and he would actually be able to come up with something. He slipped his hands under her shirt and up her back, massaging at her shoulders. Ok, it wasn't exactly necessary for him to go under her shirt but he help but notice that she was hot. She was _literally_ radiating off more heat than usual. Gently he said, "Ads, I don't mind you clinging to me but you might want to ease up on your grip because you're about to break skin, ok?"

Her nails eased up on his skin and she squeaked a weak, "Ok."

_Why_ did she always have to seem so strong? It would have made her far less attractive when she was vulnerable and needy. He wouldn't be having such a problem _thinking._ This was ridiculous; he basically, almost never had a problem keeping it down around her. He kind of did at first but that was before he realized what a good girl she was. That argument wasn't exactly working; she hadn't been so sweet when she pulled his hair.

Damon sighed, pushing at certain pressure points to try and force her to relax some muscles. Addie gasped as he pressed between her third and fourth ribs and moaned when he shift his thumb under her scapula. Damon flexed his hips in attempt to reposition his boxers. Damn Addie for being right about silk and satin over cotton.

"It's just a word, Addie. It doesn't mean anything unless you assign something to it. _Relax._ If you can't tell, I'm going to make you do so with or without your cooperation and I mean that in the most caring, affectionate way," he grinned kissing her cheek. After a few minutes he felt her taking deeper breaths, pushing her chest harder against his. Life could be a bitch.

"Does it have to be a word you use?"

Huh. Interesting. Could he possibly convince her to be ok with it? He knew she expected him to just give into her and not use it because it made her uncomfortable. But what about how he felt? He wanted to tell her he loved her all day every day as far as he was concerned but he couldn't because she'd spontaneously combust. What if he could get this one little thing? Damon nodded slowly, making up his mind, "Yeah, it is. I'm not going to call you 'babe' or 'baby;' I think it sounds degrading in our case and I don't need a reminder of how young you are. I'm going to continue to use it, Addie." If looks could stake hearts he'd have been dead but Damon just shrugged and calmly looked right back at her. Internally, he felt his blood flow like ice; maybe this was not a good idea.

"Just not in public, ok? I swear if I hear that around anybody else the whole world will be calling you Dammy-doo," threatened Addie.

Damon scowled, "I said never to repeat that."

"I had to in order for you to know that I am using it as leverage over you."

He kissed her quickly grinning maniacally, "Mmm. You are so hot when you're devious. Do you know how amazingly hot we are? We could cause so much mischief and mayhem."

"You want to share whatever it is that you're snorting or smoking?" Addie quipped, looking at him incredulously. She could see and excited gleam in his eye by the moonlight that filtered in from his open window. "It's making your eyes very dilated, which are crazy beautiful, by the way."

"Sorry, love. My debauchery limit with minors is supplying them with alcohol. You'll have to bring your own drugs to the party," Damon smirked, raising and lowering his eyebrows suggestively. "And do you mean crazy _and_ beautiful or hypnotically beautiful?"

"Both. I'm seeing a bit more of the crazy at the moment." He laughed and pulled at her shoulders from under her shirt to bring her closer to him. She looked at him with pursed lip and shook her head slowly, "There are so many things wrong with you."

"Yes," he acknowledged solemnly, "but right now, I'm allowing myself to be insanely happy because yesterday a friend died and today a werewolf almost killed me. I've been down, Ads. Right now, just let me have this one moment with you where I feel amazing with no need for rational or explanation."

Addie shrugged and smiled. She definitely preferred Damon happy, even if he was crazy, to the distraught vampire of that morning. Damon's moods were almost as fickle as hers. He put up with her ten types of crazy; the least she could do was indulge his few minutes of happiness. She doubted he'd be so chipper for long. Addie smirked and teased, "I bet I can make you feel better."

"I don't know," he grinned, his eyes trained on her soft, plump lips. "I feel like I could move a mountain. I don't think it gets any better than that"

"Oh," frowned Addie, pouting slightly. Damon wasn't exactly inconspicuous with his gaze. "So, I guess trying this," she paused to kiss him gently, "is pointless?"

"Probably but I think we need to try that again to be sure. For accuracy we should try for much longer and more intensely," Damon answered thoughtfully.

Lips ghosted against each other as Addie entwined one hand in his hair and the other at his cheek. Damon lifted his head slightly to catch a real kiss. Addie slowly, delicately moved her lips against his. Each time he tried to apply more pressure, speed up, or deepen the kiss Addie would pull away. After ten minutes he was thoroughly frustrated, mostly since he was _still _frustrated.

"Adddddddddddie," whined Damon, earning himself a look of disapproval. "I'm tired of teasing. Please, Ads. Just one serious kiss and I'll leave you alone."

She shook her head in mock disgust, "Did the Damon Salvatore _plead_ for a kiss?"

His eyes narrowed in annoyance before he looked at Addie with genuine shock, "Oh my god. What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Oh, don't be such a drama king. I just had to point out that nobody is above begging under the right circumstances. I'm actually surprised that worked."

Damon blinked at her slowly, "I am very, very desperate."

Grinning, she let her lips crash into his. Damon was ready and waiting for her. It was a short dance between their lips before he deepened the kissed, letting his hands roam over the mostly bare skin of her back; Every now and then he would graze the clasp of her bra or one of the straps and it was a good reminder to keep himself in check. Addie finally got a moment of control and pulled harder than she was really comfortable with at Damon's hair; he had said he liked rough and bit at his lip. His groan was primal and he gripped at her sides, his arms crossed over her back. By his hair, she tugged his head backward, baring his throat. In the span of a heartbeat she had left his lips and had taking the tender skin at his neck between her teeth. Up and down both sides of his neck she nibbled with varying pressures until his breathing was ragged and shallow and punctuated by occasional groans. Hesitantly, Addie clenched her jaw tighter and Damon definitely moaned and possibly uttered an expletive. One of his hands hand slipped up through the opening of her shirt and had an entwined itself in her hair while the other pulled her closer to him. These simultaneous movements had caused her shirt to ride up and her exposed lower stomach to meet his abs.

Cool and firm, his bare skin felt like a refreshing iced tea on a hot summer day. Addie was hot, very hot and Damon was the cure. Sighing in frustration, her hands instinctively gripped at his hair tighter and she placed her forehead in the crook where his neck and shoulder met. At least the coolness there seemed to help with her headache.

Damon gently brushed his fingers up and her back, grinning smugly, "I really only asked for one kiss.

"Don't be a dick," Addiel mumbled into his shoulder crossly. "Your stupid rules can go fuck themselves."

"Tsk, tsk. That is not appropriate language, Addison," taunted Damon, knowing it would simply aggravate her. "And technically," he smirked, pulling her lower back closer to him and arching his stomach up into her, "we aren't breaking any rules. Your shirt is still on; it just got a little displaced."

Manipulation of words and loopholes were a specialty of Damon's. "Double standard," Addie accused. "If I said that you would disagree."

"Possibly," he admitted. "It would depend on my mood. Right now, I'm having a _really_ hard time remembering why I have those rules so I'm not exactly up for enforcing them and monitoring what what feels right."

"Rrrright. You go ahead and yo-yo your rules. I've been up too long and it's giving me a headache so I'm going to go to sleep and deal with all our crazy in the morning," Addie yawned as she squirmed against him, trying to rest her head on his chest.

Damon bit back a groan; her wiggling against him had only caused her shirt to ride up even more connecting more skin to skin. It took her nudging at his leg, trying to get him to move it out, to distract him from the odd sensation of her belly button ring pressed against him. Quickly, he wrapped his hand firmly around her thigh and spread it back out, over his hips. His face scrunched up uncomfortably when she looked up at him in confusion. "You know, and will never tell anyone, that I am always up for cuddling and snuggling with you. It's my favorite thing we do. I'm up for being your body pillow and any other night I'd let you lay on me and between my legs. It might be awkward if I let you tonight."

"You're…? Can't you just think it away or something? I feel _really_ uncomfortable but you're cool and that's soothing," Addie blushed. Damon felt guilty when she looked at him pleadingly. Addie wasn't exactly one to express what she physically wanted and by denying her, he was discouraging her from doing so again.

He frowned, brushing some hair out of her eye, "Love, I've been _trying_ to do that since you first turned me on. I don't know if it ever really started to work but after that deluxe kiss and your extremely soft skin up against me, thinking it away definitely isn't working." Addie pressed her forehead against Damon's chest and squeezed her eyes shut but a frustrated tear still leaked out. As soon as it splashed against his chest, he had her looking at him, brushing at the damp trail the tear left. "Ads, what's wrong? I'm sorry I can't - that I don't just have an off switch. It's one of the double edge blades of being a vampire, having a libido that's ten times as active. It's one night out of so many that we've spent together. We can cuddle like that, I just don't think you'd be very comfortable doing so right now. We'll do it another night."

Addie shook her head and mumbled, "You don't get it. I'm _hot_ and you're not. That makes me feel better."

Thinking, Damon ran his hand over her exposed back before placing the back of his hand against one cheek and then her forehead. His brows furrowed in concern, "You mean you're, like, _sick_ hot."

"I always start running a fever and getting a really bad headache if I stay up too long. If I keep pushing myself, I'll start getting dizzy and nauseous. And before you suggest it, no, you're blood won't help. I'm not actually sick. My body is just so unrested that it can't maintain homeostasis. Your blood just quickly causes the regeneration of healthy cells; it's not exactly an energy boost," explained Addie, obviously annoyed as she went from holding her head up to look at him to dropping her cheek to his chest.

"I don't want things to get awkward. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," he repeated as he ran his fingers through her hair. He was almost tempted to give in now that he realized just how warm she felt against him.

Addie eyes were shut, taking in the smell and sound of the night air as rain started to fall outside his open window. She couldn't resist noting her small victory, "You said it wouldn't rain; but. I told you it would. You've been gone so long you've forgotten the weather patterns." Sighing, she completely jumped topics. Addie could kind of see how it might have given someone slower a hard time to keep up with her all the time but Damon was quick and had to be exaggerating. "Pardon my language and bluntness but I honestly don't give a damn that you have a hard-on. It would not not be the first, second or possibly even third time that I've felt it. I just want to lay warpped as tightly against you as possible."

Caving, Damon let go of her thigh to adjust himself to minimize chances of contact. Her hips were a good four or five inches above him, so at least he didn't have to worry about that. "Sometimes, I wonder if you try to make resisting sex difficult," he muttered, patting her thigh as an indication that she could move it. "Then I'm reminded about all the times you got your way with other people or me." He hooked his leg around and back under one and then the other after she had settled. "At that point, I have to stop and evaluate if I have a thing for manipulative, controlling women," he breathed, focusing on his words rather than the forbidden heat where her thighs barely touched over him. One hand left the bare skin over her back tone run over his face and through his hair as he bit his lip, trying not to react. What was it about this girl that had him reverting back to an over eager virgin, desperate to just thrust wherever he sensed friction and heat? Perhaps virginity was like some contagious disease.

Addie felt almost all the tension leave her with him embracing her that she could feel herself go limp against him, her weight sagging onto him and his erection. She'd be either flattered or bothered, typically, but she knew he didn't really want things to go any further than she did. There was a small almost unnoticeable tilt of his hips up to her where her thighs brushed together. "Damon," she drew out firmly, deciding to ignore his action, "I'm eventually going to just start taking it as a compliment if you keep comparing me to Katherine. I mean, no offense but she must have done something right if she had you whipped into loving her for 145 years."

Damon growled, not noticing he was pressing harder up towards her, "Considering I just gave into you, you're not being very nice."

"I'm not particularly fond of you trying to rub against me while thinking about your skanky ex-girlfriend. Actually, I don't like that you can think about her and still be aroused," Addie mumbled, already drifting off towards sleep.

"God, damn it," he swore loudly, bringing Addie back to full alertness. With several deep breaths and a wealth of concentration, he lowered his hips. "Ads, I am completely and only turned on by you. You're taking up so much of my mind. You own my damn heart. As much as I wish it would, one little thought about her is going to kill my lust and desire for you. Trust me, I would love for something, anything to do that because there is nothing more embarrassing than feeling like a randy teenage boy at your first grope fest. Addie, I'm sorry. I tried to tell you this wasn't a good idea."

Addie's eyes were red and heavily lidded as she looked at him, trying to calm him back down. One hand repeated went through his hair and traced down to his jaw while the other lightly ghosted random spirals across his chest with her nail. Addie hushed him, peppering soft, warm kisses in the center of his breastbone, where she rested. "The only thing you should be sorry about is alluding to Katherine in bed. I know you don't do relationships and neither do I but, Damon, that's just common sense. She used you, abused you, oh, but let's not forget that you two had really amazing sex. Does bed _really_ seem like the place to compare us, particularly if we're not having the amazing sex part which just leaves the bad? Other than that, I'm not upset with you nor nor do you need to feel embarrassed. I know your more risque past. In fact, Caroline had the wonderful satisfaction of rubbing it in my face that she has slept with you while I have haven't. Apparently, you are so talented that your skills in bed are reason enough for me to have a relationship with you. Frankly, I'm rather impressed at your self-control considering you must be very uncomfortable after this long. If you want or need to do that, I don't really care. It's my fault for teasing you all night. But you should probably know that I have no intention of moving tonight. You're going to have to force me and I'm not exactly in a mood to cooperate when being pressed up against you is making me feel better. So, you do you and I'm just gonna…"

Damon frowned after she was silent for a minute, he called her name in concern, "Addie?" She didn't answer. He lifted his head up enough just so he could look down at her. Her eye were closed and her mouth parted ever so slightly as she lay against his chest. Damon shook his head in amazement; she had literally fallen asleep in the middle of a sentence. The poor girl really must have been drained and not feeling well considering she was typically a insomniac. He felt his heart swell and chest tighten as he watched her. He could feel his erection finally fading fast. _This, _this angel was _his_ Addie.

She may have tried being a little rough tonight but that was just for him. Addie was still far too innocent and sweet to be comfortable letting go like that. _This_ was the girl he had all his rules and limitations in place for. She wasn't hot or sexy; she was pretty and delicate. It was going to be a long ass time before he was ready to face the idea of taking her virginity and even longer before he would decide that he could. Damon was completely in love with this good, perfect girl and he had no idea how he was going to make it last; he just knew he couldn't lose her.

Damon could have pulled down the back of her shirt at least but one thing was true, she _was _physically hot. Before he fell asleep, ready for an escape from all of the emotions that he had been under since Rose had been bitten, he made sure his one hand was safely on her shoulder and the other on her upper, clothed back.

* * *

**A/N: IMPORTANT QUESTION: Should I revert to shorter chapters following the story line more closely and drawing on more scenes from the actual show and showing less of the relationship develop between Addie and Damon or continue focusing more on _their _story, which means slower progression in the show timeline because their story simply takes more time to write and leads to longer chapters? Basically, move the chapters and story faster in pace with one episode/one chapter or follow at the natural pace for our starring duo? I've decided to halt on writing until I hear some input on this, leaving only the next chapter written. **

**Comments, favorites, and follows are all amazing and lead to faster updates ;)**


	30. Chapter 33

Unfortunately, the damn chirping of birds and a suffocating heat woke Damon only three hours later. All over him Addie was rapidly shuddering. He rested the back of his hand on her cheek, the easiest place to reach and it was far warmer than when he had fallen asleep. What the hell? She said the fever went away with rest. He was a vampire; he didn't know how to care for the sick.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he had to take a minute and marvel in his own stupidity. He was a _vampire_; his blood was a magical, cure all potion. If she was going to be running around with his blood in her, the might as well be making progress towards her being able to resist compulsions. Elijah was strong enough to compel vampires and when Elena had hit him with the vervain bomb, it had barely been a prickle. Damon didn't entirely trust that vervain would prevent Elijah from compelling someone if he really wanted to. The best way to keep Addie safe was to teach her to repel compulsion completely.

Addie didn't react at his first few, halting movements but when she did realize he was trying to work his way out from under her, she gave an obvious whine of protest. Damon gently stroked at her hair whispering, "Come on, love. We need to drain some of your blood and then let me heal you. Elijah might be stronger than vervain."

"After sleep," she mumbled, burying her face between his bicep and chest.

He untangled his legs from hers, having already made up his mind. He'd let her get what she wanted almost always but this involved her safety and he didn't particularly care what she wanted. Despite her gripping at him, he got out of bed. "You can sleep after we're done. It will just take a couple of minutes." Damon watched her shake her head. Guess they would have to do this his way. He shrugged and rolled her onto her back and scooped her into his arms, one leg under her knees and the other around her shoulders. She made weak and feeble attempts to escape but she was still basically asleep and probably not feeling to good since she looked paler than he did.

He set her on the cool marble top by his sink and from under it pulled out three pint glasses. She had given a squeal at the feel of the cold counter and was looking a little more alert but not entirely with it. Addie's arms wound their way around Damon as soon as he was standing again and her cheek rested against the center of his stomach. By the mirror reflection he was able to tell that her eyes were already closed again. Damon pulled back slightly, tilted up her head with a single finger, and he kissed the tip of her nose gently; sleepy Addie was very adorable.

Damon sighed, running his hands up and down her bare arms, "I've been reading and rereading and studying Katherine's notes from every angle. I'm thinking, theoretically, we should be able to jump right down from four pints of blood to three. We'd get you resisting compulsion faster compulsion by not having to go down in half increment. Bad news, we still have to wait for my blood to leave your system before trying to build up your tolerance again. I know we've been kind of wishy-washy about it but I really think it's important and something we need to get done as soon as possible."

Addie stared at him blankly, having a very difficult time keeping her eyes open, "Whatever lets me get back to sleep the fastest, Damon. Get to compelling. God, I've been wanting to work on this for ages. Of course you have _awful_ timing at…"

"It's somewhere around 6:30," he muttered, feeling slightly guilty for having her up and doing this when she obviously didn't feel good. Damon caught her glassy gaze and cupped her cheek "This isn't going to hurt at all. You're not going to feel a thing. When we're done, you'll feel so fine you'll want to throw an impromptu party."

Mutely, Addie nodded in agreement. Damon didn't have her father's handy little scalpel or anything else sharp and accurate enough to hit where he needed other than his teeth. There _was_ his penknife downstairs but he had a feeling he'd come back to find Addie unconscious in bed or however far she decided to make it. By the soft morning light creeping in through his window he could see from her reflection in the mirror that she wasn't just resting against his chest; Addie was deep asleep, again. She was starting to feel clammy in addition to hot.

His lips pressed into hard line as he thought. Losing 3 pints of blood could cause confusion, agitation, or anxiety, which he wasn't certain was a very good idea given her current state of being barely conscious. Damon wasn't concerned about her getting hurt but she could be shocked and panicked. There was the option of dosing her with just a little bit of venom when biting her but that might just make her more out of it. He wanted for her to at least be semi-alert and cooperative for this, considering it was much easier to tell just how much damage was being done as she lost more and more blood. He'd put the entire thing off until she was feel better but Elijah was up to who knew what and Damon obviously couldn't trust Addie to not be difficult and simply take her vervain. The idea of her out there so vulnerable made him queasy. He could compel her to take vervain but, again, he wasn't sure that would work against Elijah. Plus, the less he compelled her the undoubtedly better.

As he debated, he stroked at her hair, playing with it. He squinted in the mirror he thought he saw something. "Oh, shit, Ads," Damon swore to himself, lifting the hair off her neck. He couldn't quite tell the the exact color due to the room only being lit by the sun coming in from a window in his bedroom but there were obviously horrible, dark teeth prints and love bites all over her. He knew he had been rougher with her than he should have when he first saw her last night but he didn't know he'd had been _that_ bad.

Bile rose up in the back of his throat as he remember that _Stefan_ must have noticed how bad it was. Of course Damon had seen the red and and purpling marks when he and Addie left Caroline's. He would have given her his blood if he had even thought there was the slightest chance of them running into his saintly little brother. Stefan must have notice the forming bruises and that had been why he was so insistent that they 'behave.' Damon doubted he would have interrupted otherwise. Damn. Now he had to ask Stefan to keep what he saw to himself and, he'd never thank him but he did need to acknowledge Stefan for not calling Addie out when she said that they were just close friend, as he could obviously see that there was something more going on.

His head hung in shame as his fingers brushed over the bruised skin. Then he caught sight of her thigh and an obvious green and yellow bruise that mocked him. Reluctantly, Damon lifted the back of her shirt, looking at her reflection in the mirror. He felt sick with himself at the sight of a few discolored marks that were obviously fingerprints. Why the hell hadn't Addie told him he was hurting her? "Ads. Come on, Addie. I need you to stay awake for ten minutes then we'll sleep in as late as you want," he promised, shaking at her shoulder, gently pulling her head away from his chest and cupping it in his hand.

Addie growled and snarled at him, trying to get back to using him as a vertical pillow, "Or we sleep now and I give you ten minutes later. I'm cold and I feel like shit, Damon. Why can't we deal with this later? We've waited this long."

Cradling her cheeks in his hands, he pressed a kiss to her burning forehead. He whispered to her soothingly, "I know, Ads, but this can't wait. You're _really _hot, love. I'm trying to help. You either cooperate with me or I'm taking you to Jenna; I haven't had to deal with a cold or whatever you have in over 150 years."

"I'm just tired. I need to sleep," Addie insisted.

Damon shook his head, seeing her peer at him through barely opened eyes. "We tried that. You slept for about four hours and you've only gotten hotter. First thing," he sighed reluctantly, gathering up her hair in one hand and making a circle with his free index finger, indicating she should turn around. She pouted and he gave her a hard glare until she looked over her shoulder.

"Oh," she mumbled. He saw her eyes look a little more alive as the shock settled in and she touched at her neck to see if it felt as bad as it looked. It didn't. "Wow. This is just from last night?" Damon pulled up the back of her shirt to show where he'd gripped too hard. He brushed against the bruise on her thigh, guessing there were four more like it on the back. He saw her visibly flinch as she met his hard stare in the mirror. Addie turned back around, staring at her hands in her lap, starting to drift back to sleep. Had her insomnia turned into narcolepsy when he actually needed her to focus?

Damon rubbed a hand over his face and tried not to let his anger at himself spill over into his voice, "Why didn't you tell me I was hurting you?"

"It didn't hurt," Addie mumbled. Her face turned the shade of a cherry tomato, betraying her lie. "Ok, it was never _bad_ pain. Damon, I'm _not _stupid and you're big headed. Do you think I'm so delusionally charmed that you can do no wrong or I'm so terrified of losing you that I would let you hurt me? Both cases, I'm not. I just bruise really easily as a side of effect of some of my meds. I assure you they don't feel that bad. Can we go back to bed now?" she begged, her tired eyes filled with tears. Her head was throbbing, her eyes burned, her skin was oversensitized, and she just wanted to sleep.

He kissed her softly before resting his lips against her forehead again; her fever had to at least be at 102 degrees. He need to get his blood in her. Damon shook his head and held up one of the pint glasses, "Three of these filled with you blood and then we can. Ok, love?"

"I don't have my dad's kit," she pointed out, resting her head on her own shoulder.

Damon nodded slowly, "Yeah, I realized. I'm going to have to bite you, if that's ok."

She shrugged, "I don't care but my blood does something to you."

"Only if I swallow. Which is extremely tempting to do because of how sweet your blood is but I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. You've got some natural defense mechanism that means some whackjob vampire isn't going to be able to feed from you, which gives me one less thing to worry about. You ready?" Damon asked firmly, her eyes closed again. She made a noncommittal hum. "You are not going to make this easy," he muttered, guiding her off the counter by her hips. He waited for Addie to find her footing but it wasn't happening; he was mostly what was keeping her upright. Damon eventually got her to kneel next to the bathtub, her head hanging over the rim. He shook his head, knowing she was half asleep and muttered, "Good enough," before grabbing the pint glasses from by the sink. Damon knelt behind her and brushed the hair off her neck and rubbing soothingly at her back, "Quick pinch, ok? Well, actually, I did just compel you not to feel a thing."

She hummed in agreement and he felt her head steady in his hands. Damon softly kissed the area, holding her flush against him. He gave her a warning, counting to three, before his fangs sank into her neck for the second time. Hot, sweet blood filled his mouth; Damon let the addictively enticing liquid continue to overtake his senses until he could feel it begin to dribble out the corner of his mouth. It took more than a few seconds to convince himself to spit the blood out as opposed to swallowing it. He massaged at her throat, trying to get blood to flow from the puncture marks he had made but it wasn't exactly working. Damon gave up and bit at her again, having to suck her blood out. This was going to be a long, bittersweet process. Or rather sickly sweet. It was pure agony to have the greatest blood he had come across in his long life in his mouth only to have to repeatedly spit it out. It was like being allergic to watermelon all over again, except this actually interfered with how close he felt to Addie. Damon felt so guilty and simply upset every time he spat a little bit more of her blood into the pint glasses.

When he had finally filled all three glasses, Damon grabbed a clean washcloth from the sink and pressed it against the slightly weeping wounds. He bit sharply at his wrist, causing bright red blood to rise to the surface. He shook his arm impatiently after holding it in front of Addie for a few moments. Was she seriously...? Huffing, he clasped his hand over her forehead and brought her back to rest against his shoulder. He pressed his wrist against her lips and rolled his shoulder, trying to jostle her awake. "Come on, Addie," he called to her rather loudly considering she was right next to him, "Drink up and we can crawl back into bed."

He heard Addie grumble unhappily but she did begin to drink from his wrist. Damon had her take in more than he usually would; he wanted to make sure he got rid of this cold thing. It was Addie who weakly pushed his arm away and mumbled, "Now bed."

"Relax, Ads. We will get there. Give yourself a second to bounce back to the energizer bunny."

"I hate you," she mumbled as Damon wiped the remains of his blood around her mouth.

He rolled his eyes and pressed a kiss to her temple; she was still very hot. She still seemed a little too out of it to argue so he decided to taunt her a bit. Damon smirked, resting his cheek against hers, "We both know you love me." She shook her head. He held her tighter as she continued to shiver and frowned. His blood should have already started working. "How are you feeling? Neck? Head? Fever? All of it."

"My neck is sorer than usual. My head inches closer and closer to explosion with each throb. Between your blood and my fever, I'm fairly certain I'm going to freeze to death. And my skin feels raw, thanks to the fever. Have I mentioned that I just want to sleep?" she moaned, slumping into him.

Damon went from his knees to sitting cross legged and cradled her in his lap. Her skin was still extremely hot against his but her teeth were starting to chatter. Her body was trying to raise his blood to the same level of her fever. He had hoped his cooler blood would bring the fever down. His eyes squeezed tight as he tried to think. If this was just a cold or virus, his blood would have cured it. If she truly was ill out of stress and fatigue, he couldn't do anything about it. He kissed her forehead and whispered, "I really think I need to take you home, Addie. You're sick and I can't do anything about it. I don't even know what to do."

"If it was physical, it would have cleared up with your blood. It's like I keep telling you, Damon; I'm just tired. I need to sleep," she murmured, burying her face in his chest. "This isn't the first time this has happened. I started having sleeping issues at eight and since then I've gotten this during times of great stress and little sleep. My dad was a doctor; if this was something that bad he would have greater treatment plans than hydration, sleep, and cold showers."

"If you get any worse, I'm taking you home or calling your sister," Damon warned her, scooping her up and carrying her back to bed.

She nodded, immediately finding a pillow and curling up around it, not even noticing she was on his side. Damon sat watching her, stroking her hair, rubbing her back. Addie was so fragile, so human. He knew a high fever could be very dangerous. All this because she stressed herself out to the point that she couldn't sleep? He didn't like being responsible for her welfare when he wasn't prepared for this. He didn't know how to care for someone, especially when they were ill.

Damon made sure Addie was carefully covered in the blanket. Quietly, he closed his window, blinds, and curtain, darkening the room. A note with his chicken scratch stating that he would be back within thirty minutes and the time was placed on her side of the bed. He quickly dressed and grabbed his cellphone from the dresser before leaving the room. The screen of his cell rotated between Elena and Ric as he made his way down the stairs. Ric was undoubtedly in bed with Jenna and Elena would obviously put together where Addie was and would not be happy about it. Ric would probably be less annoyed about being woken up over such a thing at 7:30. Elena and Addie really had some deep rooted sibling issues. Deciding on neither, Damon called someone else.

"Hello?" answered a confused, groggy voice.

Damon wasn't in the mood for pleasantries and launched right into his problem, "Hypothetically speaking, if someone was running a fever of around 102, had a headache, and it all seemed to stem from lack of sleep, what kind of supplies would you need to handle that?"

Jeremy was clearly much more awake, "You're not speaking in hypotheticals, are you?"

"Technically, yes. I'm aware of a fever but I'm guessing at the temperature," Damon admitted, going to the fridge in search of blood that he could actually drink.

The teenager groaned, "That's the most important thing to figure out and keep a constant eye on. My sister is with you?"

Damon mulled over how to answer this as he emptied a blood bag into a glass. "Yes and no. I thought she texted you last night to cover for her."

"'Jer, if Elena talks or asks about you picking me up because I didn't feel good' doesn't exactly inform me on what I'm covering about. I mean, I _guess_ she was with you because really, who else is there? That's not actual confirmation though and she's been acting really weird about you lately so maybe she didn't want to be around you and she was up to something else. Honestly, I don't think you've been a very good influence on my little sister; I can't read her as well as I use to. Actually, I never had to read her because she never kept anything from me but she's keeping anything and everything involving you a secret from me because apparently I would want to punch you," hugged Jeremy, starting to get worked up.

"You know, I gotta ask. The rambling and getting off topic, is it a family thing or did Addie just learn it from you? Or perhaps you learned it from her? You're sister's with me and she's sick. Are you going to help or not?" Damon demanded, rolling his eyes. Either Addie rubbed off on people too easily or he understood where she learned how to get so distracted.

Jeremy sighed in exasperation, "You're the one with the magic blood."

"Already tried that. She's insisting it's because she's tired."

"That isn't far from reasonable. I know she's been falling asleep in class while I've heard her up at night. If that's the case, it's nothing serious if she sleeps it off and you ignore everything she says. It requires a mixture of being cold, comforting and patience; I'm not sure you have what it takes."

Damon shook his head in annoyance as he washed his glass, "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of Addie. I just need to know what I'm suppose to do."

Reluctantly, Jeremy answered, "If her fever goes past 102. 4, you ignore whatever the hell she says and stick her in a cold bath or shower. She's going to whine about how she's already cold but you just have to do it. My dad always said that 102 to 103 wasn't dangerously high but it was better to start lowering her fever before it did become dangerous. If it starts getting to 104 and you can't seem to get it down, you have to swear you'll call. She'll have to go to the hospital at that point and she shouldn't have to go with just you.

"Use acetaminophen and ibuprofen to try and control the fever and headache. Start with one then give the other in two hours. The rest of the directions are on the box. Also, you have to watch her take them; don't trust her to. She's convinced she doesn't need medicine and all she ever needs to do is sleep these little spells off. Elena took her word on that when my parents were busy with some Founders' day thing all day and my dad came home and ended up shoving Addie into a bath full of ice water. Elena was grounded for a few days for not following instructions. I think I'll kill you if something happens to my sister."

"Your little threats are hardly terrifying, Boy Wonder," interrupted Damon with a sneer.

The teen ignored him and carried on, "The last thing you need is some sports drinks. Powerade and Gatorade are the safest bets. Her favorite is grape and she may whine for it but don't let her have that; the dye makes her sick. She'll tolerate the lemon-lime and fruit punch if you try and force it on her. The lemon-lime has to be cold or over ice but she prefers the fruit punch at room temperature. Really, she's a picky, needy, whiny grump when she's sick and you should just bring her home and let me handle her. I've been through this so many more times than our parents knew about. I know the routine. I know how to get her to listen to me. And like I said, she requires a lot of patience. Not to mention that she doesn't like people seeing her weak and sick."

Damon rolled his eyes; he wasn't going to just pawn Addie off on Jeremy because she could be difficult when she was sick. Addie was always difficult and he was fairly certain he was more stubborn than she was. "Any other _useful _information?"

"Yeah," Jeremy snapped, "just bring her home where she's comfortable, Damon."

"As soon as she wants to go home, you have my word that I will bring her. Buh-bye now," he jeered, snapping the phone shut.

* * *

Staying absolutely still was equivalent to being stuck in a freezer. Burrowing for warmth and wrapping up in the blankets was close to useless and just felt like rough scratching against her skin. What the hell had possessed Damon into switching to cotton sheets? His silky ones were almost disgustingly cliche but they were definitely a lot more comfortable against her skin. And since when had her pillow been so hard? Addie stifled a whine, simply because she knew the sound would make her headache worse and reached out for Damon, only to have her hand fall into thin air. Figuring she just must be off in her orientation, she reached out for him on her other side only to find a cold bed.

One bloodshot eye cracked open to glare at the empty space beside her. Odd. If she was looking at his side of the bed, Addie should have been looking at the door rather than the window. Spying a sheet of notebook paper, she reached for it in hopes of clarification.

_Had to run a short errand. Be back in thirty, by 8:00. Go back to sleep. I promise to wake you when I return. I'll be expecting my pillow back. (Yours is too soft.)_

Experimentally, Addie pressed her head into the pillow beneath her. Definitely Damon's; it was far too firm. Her neck was almost painfully stiff as she turned to look at the clock on his nightstand. Glaring at the time, she turned down the picture frame that showed them on the Ferris wheel. She was simply too uncomfortable and tired to be upset or question the picture's presence. All Addie wanted was Damon to hold her and he wasn't there. This was _his _house; if she wanted to be without him she would have gone home or stayed at Caroline's. Her eyes screwed shut at the wave of vertigo that hit her as she sat up, dangling her legs off his side of the bed. Slowly, she made her way to his closet, grabbing the cashmere scarf he had once used on her and his discarded leather jacket from the previous night. .

Addie wrapped her arms tight around herself as she sat at the top of the stairs, intent to wait the fifteen minutes for Damon. Whether it was his vampire stealth or that she had fallen asleep slumped against the wall, Addie had failed to notice Stefan's appearance.

"What are we doing?" a calm, quiet voice asked from next to her. The energy was much too steady to be Damon's and that realization alone made Addie frown. She tensed and lifted her head off the wall just enough to see Stefan out of the corner of her eyes. Reluctantly, she held out the crumpled sheet of paper Damon had left. Stefan spread out the sheet and read it over before folding it back up. He gave her a critical look; blotchy red patches covered her cheek, along with a light sheen of sweat. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was ill. Stefan wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders, trying to guide her into standing, "Come on, let's get you back to bed, Addie. Damon will be back in a few minutes. I'll make sure he goes straight up and checks on you."

Weakly, she brushed Stefan's hand off her and gave him a pinched look. He dropped his hands back to his lap, reddening under her glare. There was no way she hadn't learned that look from Elena; it was the same pinched looked her sister gave him anytime he made a serious blunder. Addie didn't hold the face nearly as long as Elena did though. She turned scarlet, burying her face in her hands, "I know you… last night… nevermind."

"Damon, uh, he's not, what I mean is, he isn't," stammered Stefan, rubbing uncomfortably at the back of his neck.

"Damon's never tried to take it any further than what you saw," mumbled Addie self-consciously, wrapping the cashmere scarf tighter around her neck.

Stefan bobbed his head awkwardly and cleared his throat, "Good, uh, good because, you know, my b-"

"How about we don't do this really awkward conversation where you get all protective of me because of issues you have with your brother? It's not exactly like we've ever been close," she muttered.

"It's not just because I don't exactly trust Damon; you're Elena's-"

"Yeah," Addie interrupted, "about her. Do you think you could not tell her about Damon and me?"

Stefan shook his head, "That's what I don't get it. Why do you want everyone to think you guys are just friends?"

"Why do you and Damon hate each other?"

"It's complicated."

"But it mostly boils down to a girl coming between you," Addie pointed out. "Elena and I already don't like each other. We don't need to end up hating each other because of a guy."

"I don't think she would be -"

"We would both be playing stupid if we pretended that part of Elena didn't love Damon and part of him didn't love her," Addie said as she patted Stefan condescendingly on the arm. She wasn't exactly going to go into her beliefs on love with him but _he'd_ consider Elena and Damon loving each other.

"Damon doesn't care for her nearly the same way he does for you," Stefan said gently.

She yawned, letting her head fall to his shoulder, "I - I'm sure Damon cares about me differently than he does Elena. It doesn't bother me. If Damon decides he likes Elena better than it is what it is. I'm not going to get into a fight that ruins my friendship with him and destroys the remains of a relationship I have with my sister. As long he doesn't do anything with her while he's with me, I don't really care. It's out of my control."

"He wouldn't hurt you like that," replied Stefan certainly. "You bring out a different side of Damon. If it weren't for you, I think Damon would consider going after Elena just because it would hurt me."

Stefan and Elena really were perfect for each other. Elena had been convinced Addie was only after Damon to hurt her. Stefan was convinced Damon would have gone after Elena to simply hurt him. Addie couldn't help but scoff in disgust. Did these two realize that the world did _not_ revolve around them? That other people had feelings, too?

"My brother is genuinely happy when he's with you. I never even saw him like that with Katherine; he always had some underlying anger or motivation that kept him from really being like that with her."

Addie let her eyes close, resting against Stefan but her tiredness didn't deter her sarcasm, "Maybe because he was always too busy trying not to be second place. Makes me confused why he's with me. He seems to prefer girls where he's the backup plan, the runner up. I'm choosing him first."

Stefan reflected over this idea before countering, "Ever think that might be exactly why he's with you? You pick him over everyone else, even knowing who he is. And it's not like you were just taken in by his charms like other girls or like how Katherine fooled him. You made it pretty obvious from the start that you had quite the distaste for Damon. I'm not going to pretend I exactly understand why but you came around to liking him."

"Distaste still beats liking him," mumbled Addie.

Now that she seemed more tired again, Stefan tried wrapping his arm around her again in an effort to get her to stand up so he could guide her back to Damon's room. Unfortunately his attempts were still futile and she only seemed to curl in closer to him. Obviously, she was very ill. He could feel the heat radiating off of her.

Addie didn't budge when the front door opened and Damon appeared with a few grocery bags; Stefan guessed she had probably fallen asleep. The deadly look in his brother's blue eyes darkened by fury made Stefan feel like he had just plunged down 300 feet and left his stomach at the top. His arm was still around Addie and the situation looked much more compromising than it actually was.

"What's going on, Brother?" Damon asked coolly, the rage boiling just under the surface.

Stefan quickly withdrew his arm from around Addie, adjusting the position of her head and waking her. She grinned, seeing Damon but then took in his icy glare. Addie's eyes drifted to the corner and she saw how close she was to Stefan and she attempted to subtly move away. "I woke up and you were gone," Addie accused, deciding to ignore that he was obviously upset over nothing.

"You weren't getting any better so I had to make a supply run," he scowled, indicating the bags. "And you lied to me. You don't just need rest. You could become dangerously ill."

"I think 'dangerously' is a bit of an over statement," she muttered, resting her head against the wall. Maybe if she didn't have to work so hard supporting the weight of it, the two Damon's would merge into one.

Damon simply sneered at this, "Not according to my sources. Now, red or yellow Gatorade?"

Addie raised her eyebrows at him in an incredulous look, "Um, neither? Thanks."

"You're getting one or the other to take either Tylenol or Advil with. I'm trying to compromise and let you pick the combinations," he huffed, passing the bags to the other hand impatiently.

"No offense, Damon, but you haven't exactly been sick in over 145 years. I don't think you're in a position to be giving out medical advice."

He shrugged casually, "Perhaps not but I got the skinny about what's wrong with you and what to do. You can either play nice with me or I can take you home to be mollycoddled and suffocated at your sick bed."

It was her turn to glare at him as she demanded, "Who sold me out? Jenna? Elena?"

"Would either of them know your Gatorade preference and whether you liked it cold or at room temperature?"

"I can't believe Jeremy would do that," Addie mumbled to herself in shock.

Damon smirked at her, his eyes narrowing, "Oh, he ratted out all your dirty little tricks and secrets. He's your _big brother_ and is concerned about your welfare; do you actually expect him to do anything less?"

"I didn't expect him to turn traitor," she glowered.

"He's worried about you. Now fruit punch or lemon-lime?" Damon asked sternly getting tired of playing games after finding Addie curled up with his brother. It was too deja vu.

"I only like lemon lime if it's cold," grumbled Addie. If he insisted on being a bossy prick, she wasn't going to make it simple for him.

"There's a magic thing called ice that has this special ability to chill beverages quickly. We happen to be in possession of some," Damon smiled sarcastically.

"Fine," she spat back.

Damon flashed to the kitchen and fixed a glass of ice and poured the bright yellow liquid over it. He put what was left of the first bottle along with two more bottles of the lemon-lime flavored. On the counter remained three bottles of fruit punch flavored Gatorade. Opening the bottle of Tylenol and Advil, Damon took two pills from each. Lastly, he took the new thermometer he had bought out of the package. Before Addie could even blink he was standing a few steps below where she sat.

Addie pressed her hand against her eyes as her stomach turned furiously. "Don't - don't do that," she choked out, fighting not to let anything else come out. "The super speed, it's… ugh, please, just don't," she heaved.

"Sorry," Damon apologized sincerely, holding out the iced drink to her. With one eye cracked open, Addie took it but made no move to drink. "Tylenol or Advil?"

"I don't -"

"You need them," he interrupted, "and you're taking one or the other now. Shall I pick or are you going to cooperate?"

She crossed her arms and stared up at him with pursed lips. "They don't do anything."

"Then it's not going to hurt you taking them," Damon persisted. Addie continued to glare at him. He sighed and crossed his arms in front of him, trying to look stoic but not defensive. "Humor me, then. I'm not in a very good mood. Finding you sleeping up against my brother seems to have ruined my jolly temper."

After setting the glass next to her, Addie hopped to her feet in a heartbeat, causing her head to spin and her balance to falter. Stefan, who had remained silent during the exchange between his brother and Addie, was quick to have one hand on her lower stomach and the other on her back, steadying her. Damon growled lowly.

As soon as her head cleared, she pushed away at Stefan, quietly thanking him. Addie pointed an accusing finger at Damon, "If you think that was _anything_, you've lost your goddamn jolly mind." With that, she stormed back into Damon's room and curled up in bed, the blankets over his head.

* * *

It took Damon several minutes and a few heated words with Stefan to regain his composure after Addie had gone off on him. Eventually he returned to his room with the chilled Gatorade, medicine and thermometer. He wasn't sure if he would have prefered to come back to find Addie in a sulking pout or stretched out across the bed passed out, like he had. The glass seemed to clink loudly as he set it on his night stand. Damon frowned and fixed the picture frame she had turned down.

Turning to her, he felt at her scorching forehead before gently shaking her awake. Her eyes were bloodshot as she cracked the open just enough to look at him. Damon's tucking of a lock of hair behind her ear set her face into a scowl. He sighed, giving her a small smile, "Tylenol or Advil?"

Addie's eyebrows furrowed and she mumbled, "Go screw yourself."

"Come on. Don't make this difficult."

"Don't think I would ever do something with Stefan," she snapped back, closing her eyes.

Damon unwrapped the scarf from around her neck, despite her resistance, "I don't think you would but it wouldn't be the first time I've been played as a fool."

"You overreacted. I didn't feel good and all I wanted was for you to hold me. So I waited at the top of the stairs for you but I kept falling asleep. Stefan tried to get me back in here but I wouldn't listen. I just wanted to wait for you, Damon. And, well, I don't know exactly what happened but you're crazy if you think I actually would do anything with Stefan. Or worse, ever feel for him the way I do you. That hero hair is so unattractive and his saint act rivals my sister's. Honestly, Damon, I could find someone much simpler with far less complications but I want you. You're a fool if you think otherwise. Also, you _really_ need to stop making references to Katherine that somehow imply we are similar or that I would ever dare treat you the way she did," Addie snapped, rolling away from him.

Damon ran his fingers through his and drew in a long breath, "I - I know you're not Katherine but there are some things about you that are similar. You're both intelligent, hold grudges, can be as stubborn as a mule, and know how to lie and manipulate. Difference is you use your talents for good, mostly. I can't help but be a little jumpy that you might become like her in other ways. I _know_ you wouldn't but it's not the easiest feeling to just let slip. The more I fall for you the more tensed and worried I get about it happening."

Addie scoffed, "Seriously? I can trust you but you can't trust me not to turn into Katherine 2.0?"

"I trust you not to but that doesn't make the fear any less real. Now, Tylenol or Advil?"

"Neither."

He stripped the blankets from over her head and pressed light kisses along her cheek and brow. Under his lips he could feel that her fever had risen since he had left her that morning. "Please don't make this difficult. You wanted me and I'm here. If you don't work with me though, I'm going to have to take you home. I don't suspect Jeremy will cuddle with you if you just do your best to get better."

"I don't know. He would have before my parents died but now we're both older and ever since his druggie phase our relationship has been pretty strained. I mean, he might but it might get weird," Addie considered thoughtfully.

"You and Jeremy cuddle?" Damon asked slowly.

"Not like we do, you twit. It was never anything incestuous-like. He just, he was there whenever my depression got really bad or whenever my parents fought or when I got into it with Elena. Jeremy was always my rock. The death of our parents shattered the all the relationships within us Gilbert kids."

Damon wrapped a comforting arm around her and squeezed, "I'm sorry. That's not fair to any of you. But it still doesn't answer my question: Advil, Tylenol, or home?"

"Tylenol," she muttered.

Glad that she was cooperating he kissed her cheek before sitting back and grabbing the red and blue capsules off his night stand and the glass of electrolytes. When he turned back she was sitting up and scowling at him, a hand outstretched. Damon dropped the pills into her hand and watched her toss them into her mouth before handing her the drink. She took a tiny sip to wash down the medicine. Damon frowned, "Can you please drink the whole glass?"

"I'm not thirsty," she whined.

"Your muscles and tissues are drawing in more water because they're having to work harder at a higher temperature. You're gonna dehydrate," lectured Damon. "Just drink it, Addie. It's half ice."

Addie raised her eyebrows at him with effort; she was getting tired fast.

"Google can basically tell you everything you need to know. Chug that down, we'll take thirty seconds to take your temp then back to all the spooning and cuddling and whatever you want."

"Cuddling with you would just be pointless. You're already cold; I don't want to feel colder."

Damon rubbed at his face in exhaustion, "Love, we're both tired. Let's get this done so we can have that lie in. We can cuddle or not but come on. I'm really on the verge of taking you home because - "

In a consecutive series of several loud gulps, Addie drained the glass, making sure to catch a single ice cube. The frozen water made a quick pass under her tongue before she crunched at it. Addie passed the glass back to Damon and continued to hold out her hand expectantly. Damon dropped the thermometer in her hand, "I expect to actually read what you're temperature is. I've been warned not to trust you."

"Jeremy's a fart face," Addie mumbled around the device, keeping it held under her tongue. When it gave three high pitched beeps, she pulled it out and read it before passing it over to Damon. "100.7 which means there is absolutely nothing to be concerned about."

He looked at the device skeptically, "I swear you feel warmer."

"Thermometer doesn't lie," shrugged Addie, laying back down and curling up in the blankets. She wasn't going to point out to Damon that he needed to check her temp before giving her something to drink or to wait at least 15 to 30 minutes afterwards.

Nodding reluctantly, he placed the instrument on the nightstand and crawled into to bed next to Addie. He went to hold her but then he recalled what she said about being cold. She would come to him if she wanted.

Addie tugged the navy comforter and rolled up like a burrito. Damon gave her an exasperated look as he was left with only a small strip of the flat sheet. "You're a blanket hog."

"I wouldn't be if your jacket actually did what it was supposed to do and provided warmth," grumbled Addie, her voice muffled by the blankets.

"Leather is for style, not warmth. Do you plan on sharing or shall I go find another blanket?"

Whining, Addie kicked her way out of the blankets and tossed some over towards Damon, "Why do you have to be so cold? Human contact is suppose to be the best way to keep warm."

Damon sighed heavily and apologize, "I'm sorry I can't do that for you, Addie."

"I didn't mean it," she whispered, curling up to Damon and resting her head on his chest. "I'm a little more cranky than usual. I'm sorry. And I'll try to stop being difficult."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "We don't have to cuddle. I'd appreciate it if you would try a little harder to work with me but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't already been warned that you would be difficult."

"I just feel so damn uncomfortable," she mumbled, shifting away from him. "God, you need a cashmere sweater and pants set. You're so rough."

Damon gave her a quick wink before wandering to his dresser and digging through the third draw and then into the closet. He'd switch from polyester tee and jeans into a black sweater and satin, navy pajama pants. He held out a similar jumper and black pants to Addie once he got back to bed. "They'll be a little big but it should help."

"Thanks," she smiled slightly, taking the clothes as he slipped back into bed. Leave it to Damon to not have one but two cashmere sweaters. Addie looked at him suspiciously and took his hand, placing it over his eyes. "No peeking."

"Not interested."

"Well you were last night," Addie grumbled, pulling of his jacked and her shirt to pull on the sweater. Delicate and so soft, it was definitely much better than her scratchy shirt. Under the blanket, she shimmied out of her coarse track shorts and pulled on the silky pants and tied the drawstrings as tight as she could. She pressed a kiss to the hand over his eyes and removed it. "Thanks," she whispered again, curling around him. Nothing made her sensitive skin feel like it was being rubbed raw this time.

Damon stroked at her hair gently and dared to ask, "We ready to sleep?"

Addie gave a noncommittal noise, already falling back asleep.

He had forgot to set his alarm to wake them in two hours to give Addie the Advil but her ringing phone did the job after three. Damon wasn't sure if she ignored the phone or slept through it. For someone who didn't exactly use their phone much, Addie was never far from hers. Wanting to make sure it wasn't something important, he reached under her pillows and read the caller ID. The loud phone was placed against her ear, startling her.

"What the - " she murmured groggily, pulling the device away from her ear and pressing a button to silence it.

"I figured you'd probably want to answer a call from Jenna."

Addie groaned and answered the phone with a croaked, "Hello?"

"Hey, Addie. Elena told me Jeremy had to pick you up last night because you didn't feel good," Damon overhead from the other end.

She cleared her throat quietly before replying, "It's just that, well, we stayed there a lot right after the accident. It was bringing up some bad memories."

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry. Where are you now? Do you plan on doing what Elena and I are doing?"

With a halting breath, Addie rubbed at her head, "What are you guys doing?"

"Elena went up to the lake house with Stefan for the rest of the weekend and I plan on staying with Ric until whenever John leaves," Jenna answered bitterly.

Addie grabbed Damon's hand and placed it over her eyes. The cool sensation made her eyes feel a little less pulsating. "No. Unlike the rest of you, I recognize John is family. He may have been a dick sometimes but who hasn't been? Elena's a constant bitch and you expect me to be nice to her. I don't get way everyone can't just grow up and tolerate each other."

Jenna was silent for a few moments, "You're particularly grouchy today. I suggest you lose the attitude before the gathering. I don't think Elijah is going to want to answer questions about his book if you're going to be a crank."

"Yeah," she exhaled slowly, "about that; I'm not going to be able to make it. I was still upset from last night so Bonnie and I kind of planned a girl's day."

"Alright. Just keep me updated on what you're up to."

"Will do," mumbled Addie, ending the call. It flew from her hand and landed with a clatter somewhere on Damon's floor.

Feigning like he hadn't heard the entire conversation, Damon looked at Addie curiously, though he really didn't need to as she press his hand harder over her eyes, "What did she want?"

"Not really sure. Think she was mostly just checking to see if I was going to this historical society high tea thing at the Lockwoods this afternoon," she muttered.

Damon moved his hand up to her forehead. "Why do you keep getting warmer?" he growled to himself in frustration. Louder and calmer he asked, "You hate social functions. Why would you go to something like that?"

"I could possibly be getting warmer because I'm feeling worse. I'm having nightmares as opposed to resting. Jenna invited me to go after I started asking her questions about Elijah. Told me to go to the tea and ask myself."

The proper introduction to this terrible vampire that Addie seemed to trust was long overdue, in Damo's opinion. Now, he knew exactly where and approximately when he could find Elijah. The problem would be getting away from Addie. He didn't really want to leave her alone sick, plus he wasn't sure how he would get away without her being suspicious. He'd figure it out.

"Why aren't you resting? What's up with the nightmares, Ads?" Damon asked gently, slowly moving from under her so he could grab the Advil and thermometer from his nightstand.

Addie shook her head as he held out the device to her, "Medicine first. And, well, you have to promise not to laugh."

"It doesn't matter in which order you do them. Just take your temperature, Addison," he sighed in slight frustration. "I would never laugh at something that makes you have nightmares."

Reluctantly, she snatched the thermometer from him and scowled, "It's stupid but when I was younger Caroline told this story about her house being haunted. I'm terrified of ghost. Truly and deeply terrified. I try to logic them away because I know it's a completely irrational fear but when I was like 6 I saw this stupid film and I don't know. That's why I was up last night, why I couldn't sleep. I know her house isn't haunted but it still scares me some nights. Now I can't sleep because I'm still having fears about ghost."

"Werewolves, vampires, and witches are real but not ghost," Damon grinned crookedly. "But even if they did, you don't have to be afraid as long as I'm around. Anything or anyone that wants you is going to have to go through me. You're safe," he reassured her, He took the thermometer back from her and held it in front of her mouth. She opened and he placed it under her tongue. He studied Addie as her eyes went crossed as she tried to read what her fever was. When the signal went off he pulled it out to read it but he could tell from her grimace that it wasn't good. "Addie," groaned Damon, "what do you expect me to do? It's 103.6! This is closer to 104 than in the 102s and I'm suppose to take you to the hospital if I can't get your fever down."

"Just give me the Advil; that will take care of everything," Addie lied, holding her hand out.

Damon gave her the medicine and passed her the rest of the Gatorade she hadn't finished. It was watered down and warmed but she drained the glass with no complaint when she saw the crease of concern on Damon's forehead.

"Look, now that I've shared my fear with you, I can probably sleep stress free and get the rest that I need to get better. Plus, I've got Tylenol and Advil in my system at this point. It's like double the firepower against the fever. And I feel like I'm boiling, which means that it's going to plummet soon," Addie lied, grabbing her shorts and shirt from the floor. She ordered Damon to cover his eyes again and she changed. When she climbed back into bed he stared at her with concern. Ignoring him, Addie pulled at the hem of his sweater. Damon grabbed the shirt at the back of his neck and pulled it over his head and tossed it to the floor. He was still sitting so Addie basically climbed into his lap and clung to his cool torso. His hands slid along the burning skin of her lower back.

He wasn't sure how long he has spent in his thoughts, debating on what to do but when he finally decided, Damon felt Addie's weight sagging into him and her breathing had slowed, If it weren't for the fingers that occasionally skimmed the back of his neck, he would have been certain she had fallen back asleep. "You're gonna hate me," he whispered sadly into her ear."

Her voice was definitely laced with sleep as it took her several seconds to string together, "Don't make me."

"I'd rather you be mad than something happen to you," sighed Damon, kissing her. "I'm not convinced that sleep and some pills are enough at this point. Question is cold shower or cold bath?"

"No," Addie objected and Damon felt several hot tears splash onto his shoulder and chest.

Damon rolled his eyes at the dramatics but his voice was still tender and gentle, "Yes, love. I know you don't want to and I don't want to make you but I am _really_ worried, Addie. You've got to pick one." He waited for her to respond but when after a minute she had, Damon leaned back slightly to see her face. "Ads? Addie?" This whole suddenly falling asleep thing was really getting old. He shook her until she made a whining groan of protest. "Come on, Addie. I need you to stay awake long enough for you to not drown in the tub or crack your head open in the shower."

"Sleeping."

"Waking up." She didn't respond. "Addison May Gilbert, you can either do this on your own or I will do it for you. Either way you are getting in that damn bath or shower," Damon hissed, not liking the flushed look on her face and even arms and legs.

"Funny," she mumbled, barely intelligible.

Damon huffed in aggravation and carried her to the bathroom. He tried to set her down but she refused to support her own weight. "Addison, I'm not playing games." She continued to ignore him. Scowling, he stepped out of the sleep pants, leaving him in his boxers. Giving up and just carrying her, he stepped into his shower and barely turned on the multiple showerheads.

"What the hell, Damon?" Addie shrieked, wriggling out of his hold.

He kept a tight grip on her wrist so she wouldn't get out. "I warned you," he snapped.

She pulled at her soaked shirt uncomfortably. Addie made to slap him but he easily caught her hand, giving her a dangerous look. "God!" she huffed, wrenching her hand from his grasp and tried readjusting her tee again. "I can't fucking believe you did this!"

Damon tossed his hands up in frustration, "Forgive me for being concerned about my girlfriend's welfare. She has a tendency to lie about how sick she is and what treatment she really needs!"

"Screw it; I can't deal with this." Addie muttered to herself as Damon talked, pulling off her shirt and letting it fall to the floor with a wet smack. Her head snapped up as she registered what he had said. She shook her head slowly, "Since when am I your _girlfriend?_"

"Better question: what the hell are you doing?" he responded incredulously indicating her shirt at their feet.

"Every girl has a diva thing. Some have more than others. My diva thing is wet clothes; I can't stand wet clothes. If someone spills something on me, we have to go home so I can change before moving on to the next thing. It's icky. It's gross. I don't even like my bathing suit being wet unless I am actually in the water. Being thrown in a shower fully clothed? That's next to ghost on the nightmare level. And big whoop, you're seeing me in my bra. It's not much different than my bikini," ranted Addie.

Damon shrugged disinterestedly, "I gave you a chance to handle this on your own. Then you wouldn't have had to deal with wet clothes."

Addie sneered at him, "How long exactly do you plan on holding me hostage in here?"

"I'm gonna go with 'until you're not red all over.'"

Addie crossed her arms as the chill of the water stopped being refreshing and became more cooling. She turned away from Damon and brushed the water out of her face. "Exactly _when_ did I become your girlfriend? I don't remember to agreeing to that."

"You're actually serious about that?" he scoffed. "We're in an exclusive relationship. What did you think you were?"

"I don't know. Something like co-relationship partner…" she said struggling to find the words she wanted.

Water started to trickle down into his face so Damon pushed his hair back. He wrapped an arm around Addie's waist and pulled her back into him. "You have serious commitment issues," he sighed.

"It's not a commitment issue. It's a 'when the hell did that happen' issue. I didn't know being in an exclusive relationship came with labels."

"How would you introduce me to someone? As your what?"

"I'd introduce you by your name, that's why you have one. Your name is the only label that you should be stuck with," fumbled Addie.

Damon rolled his eyes, "First off, you're not stuck with the label 'girlfriend.' Second, what if someone asked what our relationship was to each other?"

"I'd ask them why it was any of their damn business."

He nodded slowly and clicked his tongue, "I totally get you, now. It's not a commitment issue, you just want to avoid admitting to someone that we are in an exclusive relationship."

"I just… Damon, I would feel like an idiot calling you my boyfriend. Anyone who meets you knows you are anything but boyfriend material. A boyfriend is suppose to be a big sap and, well, a _Stefan_. Yes, you're a hopeless romantic but you're not a romancer. I'm fine with that. I'm happy with that. I don't want a romancing boyfriend. I would literally lose my mind if I had to act so sweet and perfect all the time. I like being with you. I don't want the pressure of being a girlfriend," Addie explained feebly.

Damon moved the soaked hair off of one shoulder and placed a soft kiss just below her ear before resting his chin on her shoulder, "I think you give too much power to words. Love, girlfriend, boyfriend, they are all just syllables until you put a definition behind them. You're too young to assign a such a serious meaning to things. You take life too seriously. There's no pressure of being my girlfriend. I don't expect anything of you. It's already how I've been thinking of you. It's just the easiest way to summarize what's going on."

"No, nuh-uh. That implies something much more serious," Addie objected, leaning back into Damon. She could feel herself getting tired again as the shock of the shower was wearing off.

He held her tighter, feeling her rely on him for support. "You see my point about being too serious?"

"Just shut up," she mumbled through clattering teeth.

The flushed look was gone now and she definitely felt cooler but it could have just been the water. Damon shut off the water. Pulling away from Addie, he asked, "You ok to stand long enough for me to get you towels and clothes?" She nodded slightly, her eyes barely opened. "Yeah, I'm not leaving you in a slippery shower," he mutter as he grabbed her wrist and had her follow him out and onto the dry bath mat. "Stay," Damon ordered, experimentally letting go of her to see if she balances. As an afterthought he added, "Awake and standing."

She nodded again. In a flash Damon was back with two fluffy towel with his lucky boxers with the yellow smiley faces and the dark maroon John Varvatos v-neck Addie liked so much. There was no reason to tell her it was nearly a $200 shirt. He'd known her long enough to know that the only time she would pay for name brand was her Converse.

Addie groaned and leaned against the counter, "What did I say about the magic tricks?"

"Sorry," he replied halfheartedly. "I didn't exactly trust that you were going to remain upright."

"Your level of confidence in me is so reassuring," she attempted to sneer, taking the offered items.

"I'm leaving you alone long enough for you to get dressed. Considering you're ill and suffering from narcolepsy my level of confidence in you reaches to the moon, which is on the other side of the world right now so you gotta add in those extra miles. I'm giving you more credit than you've earned. I'm gonna go change. You can change in the lavatory; plenty of room and a door. Drop your wet clothes in the tub and I'll get them washed and dried," instructed Damon, leaving the bathroom.

* * *

Addie awoke a few hours with her head hurting a little less and feeling a little better overall. She reached out to snuggle up against Damon and tell him the good news. A grimace overtook her face as she felt the bed cold and empty. She glared at his side and noticed on his nightstand a bottle of red Gatorade, Advil, Tylenol, the thermometer and a note folded so that it was standing with her name written on it. With a whining moan, she moved to take the paper.

Ew. He had dotted the "i" in her name with a grinning face that had its tongue sticking out. It was cute. Addie didn't like Damon being cute; it wasn't him. She decided not to dwell on wondering why he had done that and opened the note.

_Ads, _

_If it's past four take the Tylenol. If it's past six take both. Drink as much of the Gatorade as you can. You weren't feeling as warm when I left so let's keep it up and not risk a relapse. _

_I didn't want to leave you but I'll be back as soon as I can. Jenna roped Ric into to tea. Ric roped me into tea when he figured out Jenna could be compelled. We were trying to rapidly detox her but we didn't exactly know that she had a playdate with Elijah. Turns out wolfsbane cuts the half-life of vervain down to a ¼. I was able to text Ric yesterday morning when you weren't looking and got him to not give Jenna his usual vervained coffee. I've kind of made a mess and have to compel Jenna as soon as possible and make sure she stays away from Elijah during the meantime._

_I'll see you after I clean up the mess I've made._

_Damon_

"I am with an idiot," Addie muttered as she tossed the paper back on the nightstand and picked up the thermometer. There was no way Damon was going to leave that party without confronting Elijah. Her wager was that he would be stupid and hot headed about it because that was just Damon; acting without thinking things through. Elijah would likely kill Damon if he found him more troublesome than useful, regardless of whatever deal he had made with Elena.

The thermometer went off and read 101.7; it was an improvement. Addie turned to the clock and was surprised to see it was half past seven. She had slept way later than she thought. Her head snapped to the door as she heard the doorknob click out of place. A breath of relief she hadn't realized she'd been holding left her when Damon came in and over to her looking completely fine.

"Medicine and hydrate," he bossed, raising a challenging eyebrow.

Addie rolled her eyes, which didn't hurt as bad as before, and kneed him gently where he sat next to her, "I literally just woke up. I had time to read your note and take my temperature. I was just about to do the other two things."

Damon passed four pills to her and the Gatorade and looked at her expectantly. Addie gave him a sour look but took the medicine anyways. He still stared at her and she huffed and puffed in frustration and began to take small sips of the drink, slowly turning her upper lip red.

"How bad's your fever?" he murmured against her forehead, kissing her lightly.

"Down to 101.7, so not that bad comparatively. I got in some really good rest this last time," Addie smiled slightly, continuing to sip.

Damon felt a pang of guilt and a mixture of relief. Addie didn't exactly know he had switched her last dose of medicine with nighttime versions. But he need her to sleep deep so she would get better _and_ so he could go off to the tea party. That hadn't been one of his brighter ideas. "Good," he nodded, pulling away from her when she grabbed him by the upper shoulder and brought him back closer. Internally, he cursed as she moved away his jacket from his neck.

"Is that… Why is there… What happened?" Addie eventually settled on.

"Drink," Damon ordered, pulling off his jacket and letting it fall over Addie's legs. She took a large gulp and motioned for him to continue talking. "I just went to formally introduce myself to Elijah. I even thanked him for saving the day with his little witch yesterday. He said he was just holding up his plan of a bargain. I said that wasn't a good of an explanation as to why he was here. _He_ was the one who pushed me against the wall and choked me. Then he decided to jab a pencil into my neck. I'm telling you, Ads, this guy isn't safe and any trust in him is a big mistake," he finished harshly, taking his jacket into the closet to hang it and to change into a black, waffle knit tee.

Addie pinched the bridge of her noise. That was just Damon's version. There were many times that she wanted to stab Damon in the neck and she was fairly certain he played much nicer with her than he did with her. She wasn't going to even argue with him about it. "Anyone else get hurt?"

Damon leaned against the post at the foot of the bed and looked at Addie. She looked tired and a little pale but definitely not judgemental. No, he knew she wouldn't be pleased about his run in with the Original but she wasn't upset or disappointed in him. Addie just took it in stride and tolerated it like all the other things he did that bothered her. He didn't know how she did it. Or how he had gotten so lucky. Or when it would end. He would just enjoy her acceptance as long as she would have him. He shook his head, "Nope. No one even noticed we went off for a little discussion except for Ric and Daddy Gilbert. I managed to compel Jenna to ignore anything between us and spiked her drink with vervain. You know, nobody actually drinks tea at a tea party unless it's laced with brandy?"

"The secret is: every Founding Family member is a raging alcoholic and were hardcore partiers in their days," Addie whispered scandalously, grinning at him.

"Oh, please," smiled Damon coyly, waving his hand dismissively and pretending to be embarrassed. "You can't measure the Family members up to me. You know I'm the baddest of the bad."

"You _were_," Addie emphasized, "but apparently you've gone and got yourself a _girlfriend_ and you dot 'i's with smiley faces that have their tongue sticking out."

Damon swooped in and pecked her lightly on the lips. "It's not nice to mock your totally awesome boyfriend."

"Oh, you're not my boyfriend and I'm not your girlfriend," she quickly corrected, patting his cheek.

"Semantics," he shrugged, taking up her hands. "How are you feeling? One is 'Let's go to Disneyland' and ten is the worse you've been on this fun little acid trip and above that is just scary."

"Acid's like this? Well _that_ sucks. Acid and marijuana cultivated at certain times are the only drugs that sound like fun. Well, they're the only one's I'd consider trying due to their extremely low addiction rates on first use."

Damon frowned, "How about you _don't_ try drugs and I don't have to have to give a bunch of talks about the dangers of them?"

Addie's lips pursed and her eyes narrowed at this, "How about I don't tell you who you sound like because that will just gross both of us out."

"Good point. One to ten?"

"Where does 'I'm not going to keep passing out but my head still hurts a little, I just feel kinda blah, not feeling hot or cold from my fever and all I want to do is to curl up next to you' fit on that scale?"

His brow furrowed in thought, "You know, I'm not really sure. I'll just get to my point. Do you feel up to coming downstairs with me? I feel like having a pensive stare into the fire after having such an encounter with an unkillable Original for the second time. It seems I should be questioning my immortality or rather mortality."

"Is that actually what you're going to think about?"

"Mmmm," Damon hummed in mock contemplation before kissing her. "How do you know me so well?"

Addie pulled him back in for another kiss, "It's mostly guesswork and your clothes. You can tell a lot about a person by their clothes."

Damon laughed, "You sound like Caroline. No offense, love, but you do not know fashion."

She shuddered dramatically, "Promise to force me into therapy if I start becoming like her. And don't let me convince you that 'retail therapy' is therapy. I know by your lucky smiley face boxers that you are a man who enjoys his comfort and despite how cantankerous you may act there is a humorful, cheeky, kinda fun side of you. I couldn't see you buying these in your typical mood."

"You reread far too much into my boxer collection. You're right though, I was in a particularly good mood, when I bought them. So, up for tea in my dull study? I believe we'll both find it much more entertaining if we're there together.""

Addie rolled her eyes, "We both know you won't be drinking tea. Little fun, human hint for future reference: you don't generally drink hot beverages when you have a fever. But I'll join you with my Gatorade."

Squeals of protest and pleas to be put down were ignored by Damon as he scooped her up bridal style and carried her down the stairs. When he got to his study, Addie swatted at his chest and whined, "Come on, Damon! Put me down! For the tenth time: I can walk!"

He shook his head and chuckled, "Nah. You're more amusing when you don't get what you want."

"You're such a dick!" she pouted as Damon dropped into the oversized arm chair. She scooted to the small space next to him so he could fix himself a drink but he just wrapped his arm around her.

"It's hard to take you seriously when you pout like that," he snickered, poking her on the nose. His eyes focused on the fire as his face sobered, "Today sucked."

Addie wrapped her arm his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. She nodded, "Can't agree more. How's the throat?"

"Sore," he replied sourly.

A new voice joined the conversation, startling Addie, "Yeah. That Elijah's one scary dude, but with nice hair. Hey, Addie. Glad to see you're feeling better. I was beginning to wonder if you were actually sick or if Damon was cleaning up a mess and I had to help with a body. You want another?"

"I haven't even touched my first," Damon answered, looking at Addie as if she was growing a second head. She had moved his arm from around her shoulders and seemed to be trying to hide behind him.

"Exactly how long has my history teacher been here?" Addie hissed in Damon's ear.

Damon shrugged, "Well, he came back with me so however long we were upstairs? I told him to fix drinks while I went right up to check on you."

Knowing it wouldn't hurt him, Addie couldn't resist pinching him lightly, "You let me come down in _your boxers_, _sans bra_ with Alaric here?! Not to mention you have to act all couple-ly."

"It's a good thing you don't overreact," Damon muttered before turning back to the fire.

Alaric poured himself some more scotch, ignorant of Addie and Damon's hushed bickering. Aloud, he thought, "I'd think twice before I'd trust that dagger and some ashes to kill him. You're gonna need more info."

Damon scoffed and scowled at him, "I'm out of sources."

"I'm sorry. I think high fevers are associated with delusions. I could have sworn I heard you basically say you're going to try and kill Elijah," Addie breathed out slowly, her lips pressed into a thin, firm line.

"That wasn't a delusion. He's a threat that need to be taken out," Damon stated firmly, rolling his storming blue eyes at her angry expression.

"Yes, he's someone to watch but he's the best shot at saving Elena! At saving everyone, apparently. If it wasn't for him you'd be dead because you pissed off a bunch of werewolves when you took out _another_ threat!" Addie paused for a short second and ran through a list of names in her head, "The only person in this town who has not been on your threat list is Elena. You can't go around killing every potential threat. In this case you _will_ get yourself killed, Damon. You _should_ be reflecting on your mortality!"

"I had perfectly valid reasons for viewing each person as a threat, including _you_," he snapped back.

Addie nodded her head in agreement, "And I will never deny that. But where would we be if you took out every threat? Not here! Half the town wouldn't be dead."

His face hardened and eyes narrowed, "This is different, Addie. This guy is a threat to _you_! At the very, very, very, very least, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. But it's a 99% chance that you're going to be hurt far worse."

"This is more like what I imagined," interrupted Alaric, sipping on his drink. "I don't understand you two getting along. You guys going at each other like two beta fish in bowls pressed next to each other makes a little more sense. I mean, what's officially up with you two?"

Damon rolled his eyes and smirked at Alaric, "We're co-relationship partners. Addie's afraid of the word 'girlfriend' or anything that suggests commitment." She shoved at him but there was really nowhere for him to go in the oversize chair really meant for one. "Ooh," Damon marveled falsey, marveled wrapping his arms around her shoulder and pulling her into a crushing hug at his side, "she's got spunk, huh?"

Alaric watched Addie try and struggle out of his hold for a minute before giving up and and resting against him. He wasn't sure how he felt about them being together but Alaric had to admit that she brought out a more refined and controlled side of Damon. Alaric would possibly even argue that he was possibly a better man with her in his life. Still he felt the need to say, "Just don't kill her, please."

"I'd probably try and kill him first," conjectured Addie.

Damon nodded, "That's probably true. Besides, there are too many people who would try and kill me if I killed _her._ Would be far simpler to just compel her away. I don't feel like having to kill a bunch of surly teens, a history teacher and _John _just because Addie becomes so..." He looked at Addie thoughtfully, "Would you annoy me into killing you or piss me off?"

"Oooh, that's a hard one. I'm definitely capable of both. It would depend on if you pissed me off or annoyed me first, I think."

Alaric sighed heavily and shook his head, "Do you two understand how wrong it is that you can casually discuss killing each other so easily."

"Well, we figure that it's best if we examine this from a realistic approach," Addie stated simply, shrugging slightly. "That means one of us finally comes to our senses and kills the other."

"Yep," agreed Damon, popping the "p," "because Addie is convinced that it is impossible to live in a happy, possibly delusional state."

She pulled away enough to glare up at him, "You really want to discuss delusional right now?"

Damon's eyes definitely said he was up for the challenge but Alaric jumped in before he could answer, "Please don't. And nobody maim, compel or kill anyone, all right? Addie, if you do, Damon will retaliate. Damon, if you do, everyone is going to retaliate. Plus you're Jenna's niece, and it's bad enough that I'm lying to her about everything else. I hate the lies."

Addie looked at Damon and raised her eyebrows in question. His attention was averted to swirling the scotch in his glass. She elbowed him in the ribs. He tossed back the entire contents of the barely touched drink and gave her a long, sideway glance. Her expectant look turned into a glare.

"Are you guys fighting without actually saying anything?" Alaric asked, uncomfortable in the silence.

Addie shook her head while Damon answered, "Not at all. Just having a difference of opinion."

That was code for fighting or at least a pre-argument in any relationship Alaric had ever been in. Two headstrong, opinionated people; this was a brilliant idea. What the hell had he been thinking when he agreed to get Jenna off vervain to help them have this little tryst? "Really, what percentage of your relationship is composed of fighting?"

"I have not yet calculated that as things are still sort of in the beta phase but I postulate there is a direct correlation between how much we fight and how much we're around other people. Give me a few weeks and I can get back to you with a number."

Damon gave Alaric a look of exasperation, "Why did you ask that? Now every conversation will involve Addie, a stopwatch, and me." Addie pinched him again. "Why do you keep doing that?" he grumbled, grabbing her hand.

She scowled and did it again, "_A_: It doesn't hurt you, so I don't feel guilty. _B_: It annoys you, which I enjoy doing. _C_: You keep being annoying. The idea is for you to eventually not be annoying because you don't like being annoyed. "

"I prefer the term 'obnoxious. Besides, I'm not one of Pavlo's dogs; you can't train me'" he smirked, leaning in to kiss her forehead. Addie pulled away and glared at him meaningfully.

"It's not training. It's creating an instinctive response. Man's goal is to seek pleasure and avoid pain."

"Have you noticed I have a habit of running towards the pain?" Damon quipped. Rolling his eyes, he turned back to Alaric, "Addie's upset because I forgot to mention that she wants to add another lie to your plate." This time she smacked the back of his head. His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

Addie stared right back at him, "You're an ass. You said you were ok with this!"

"Of course I am. I am thrilled that you've changed your mind and want to keep us a secret," Damon sneered.

Alaric butted in, looking at his phone, "You guys figure out whoever whatever you want to tell them. I'm keeping my mouth shut and not getting into this. In fact, I got to go. I got to pick up Jenna." He stood up and shoved his phone back into his pocket while his gaze drifted around uncomfortably. "Don't worry. I'll, uh, show myself out."

The interruption of from Alaric acted liked a bucket of water on their fire. Addie gazed up at him with wide, apologetic eyes that flickered in the glow from the fireplace. He pressed a kissed to her forehead and whispered under his friend's talking, "I'm ok with it. I know you're not ready. I just want to get it over with for the same reason you want to wait: anxiety." Addie frowned but Damon shook his head. He propped his feet up on the table and wrapped his arms around Addie as she sunk further into the chair and rest her head on his chest. Damon let one hand support the back of his head while the other played with her hair. "Good luck with that," Damon quipped to Alaric as he finished speaking. With Addie curled up with him, the external warmth of the fire, and the slightly elevated feeling of a drink, he was good. Two sets of blue eyes closed as he and Addie both exhaled loudly. Both their lips twitched upwards.

A loud crash and thud had Damon sitting up on high alert in a matter of seconds. His hand rested over Addie's, her nails digging into him as she trembled next to him, startled by the noise. Damon gently pried her hand off of him and stood up. When he saw her start to do the same, he shook his head and gently guided her back to sitting down by the shoulder. She frowned but he squeezed her shoulder and his eyes left no room for debate. With resignation, Addie slumped back and crossed her arms in front of her.

Damon walked out of the library and into the hallway. Addie's eyes followed Damon but she couldn't see anything once he turned the corner. Curiosity got the better of her and she made to move out into the hall. Suddenly there was a loud thump. She froze as the noise was followed with echoing grunts and sounds of a struggle. Walls were being crashed into and glass shattered.

_This_ was why she was convinced her sister was an idiot. _This _was why she wanted nothing to do with the supernatural world. Everyone else may have had that delusional teenage bravositiy that they were indestructible but Addie was _very_ aware of her own mortality against these creatures. Damon had proven that the night they met. Panicking, her eyes flew around the room in search of a place to hide. Behind a chair. Behind a curtain. Under a desk. Or in the desk chair and angling it so she couldn't be seen. They were all bad options. This was a freaking manor from the days of the Underground Railroad and the prohibition! Shouldn't there be some secret passage way? More banging and crashing sent her behind the curtain.

There were some words for a male that she couldn't make out but she understood the woman, "Hi, Damon. Nice to see you again"

Why did she have to fall for the crazy, impulsive vampire who pissed everyone off? She should be with someone safe, boring, and completely ordinary. Why hadn't she fallen for that silent guy who almost literally blended into the wall of her math class? Nope, she had to go for the idiot she hated because he was all kinds of trouble and now he had just sucked her into that world!

She couldn't make out what the intruders were saying but Addie was almost certain about the sounds of scraping furniture and rattling chains. The last time she had heard those sounds, someone's heart was ripped out. It wasn't a comforting thought. What was the most nerveracking of all was that she heard absolutely nothing from Damon; not even words she couldn't understand. He was silent and Damon didn't do silent. He was incapacitated in some form, to what extent, Addie wasn't sure she want to know. There was between 10 minutes and 2 hours of silence; she wasn't exactly sure how time was passing. To keep herself distracted from darker thoughts, she attempted to count the seconds but she kept going too fast and then too slow.

Ice ran through her veins as she could just barely hear a pained, strained, groan. That gave her absolutely do idea how bad he was hurt; Damon wouldn't cry out and admit weakness. Addie make out the word moonstone from the female again then, just barely, she heard Damon's voice. That was slightly reassuring. The fact these people seemed to care about the moonstone? Not so much.

Damon had gotten into a fight with a pack of werewolves led by some woman the night before and walked away the proverbial victor. Today there were intruders attacking him and asking about a rock related to a werewolf curse, led by a woman from the sound of things. It didn't take a genius to figure out who Damon was probably facing. It would take some brainpower to figure a way out of this mess but Addie's wasn't exactly working too well as she heard another sound of pain from Damon.

She had no idea how many werewolves there were. And, as much as she cared for him, she wouldn't ask her friends to put their lives on the line for him. Telling Stefan was an option but he was an hour away and there was no guarantee he would save Damon. Dr. Martin had been able to take the wolves down last night but she didn't have his number. She had Bonnie's number who had Luka's number who had his father's number. That would be a fun game of telephone. Addie did have Elijah's number and a deal with him, though. He did seem to be a man of his word. She didn't get the deceitful sense from him like she had Stefan and Damon when she first met them.

Hot tears of frustration flowed from her eyes as she bit her lip. His number did her a load of good when it was up in Damon's bedroom! Addie cringed as another sound of pain made its way to her. She had to do something. Cautiously, she peeled back the curtain just enough for one eye to look around the room. Her steps were quick and light as she dashed for Damon's cell that was abandoned in the chair they had occupied. Even quicker she was back behind the curtain. Addie went to call Elena but she was blocked by a four digit passcode. She tried the default combination, Damon's, Stefan's, Katherine's, Elena's, and even her own birth day and month, birth month and last two digits of the year, birth year, and those combinations for the night Damon died and the day he turned. That throwing the phone through the window would not save Damon became her mantra as she started entering random combinations of dates or events. On what felt like the 50th try 1808 gave her access to the phone. Gross. His day of birth and hers. Dialing Elena's number, Addie decided that damon needed a new hobby. Perhaps she _would _ask him to scour all over the globe for a way to get Elena out of the ritual.

Addie had to call twice and Elena finally answered on the third ring, "What do you want, Damon? We're avoiding _all_ annoying people, not just John."

"Addie. Call Elijah and ask him to come to the boarding house before Damon and I end up as puppy chow," she whispered urgently into the phone.

"Wait, what? What's going on?"

Addie scowled. Why did her sister have to love the sound of her own damn voice so much? "Werewolves have Damon. Something about the moonstone. Every word risks exposure. _Elijah."_

"Ok, just hang tight. I'm calling right now," Elena reassured her sister before the line went dead.

Her fingers twitched tighter around the she wanted to do was run her hand through her hair but that would cause major curtain movement and you could already see her feet. There wasn't anything she could do now besides stand and wait. Just how long would it take Elijah to show up? She tried to count time again but sounds of Damon's agony kept distracting her.

For a brief moment, Addie could have sworn she felt so light when she first heard Elijah that gravity had ceased to exist. In his always perfectly polite, posh accent he asked, "You looking for this?" She guessed he was showing off the moonstone. Exactly what he did with it she wasn't sure but she heard the deadly challenge in his voice, "Go ahead. Take it."

There was some kind of soft noise and then two loud thuds. Addie was gonna guess the body count was at three. The Original's voice was quieter now and she could quite make out what he was say.

A rush of peace overcame her when she heard Damon say in slight bewilderment, "I don't know."

"It doesn't really matter," Elijah replied before what was presumably the sound of another body falling.

Figuring it was safe now, Addie stepped out of the study and into the hall. She froze at what was unmistakably chains ripping apart. Now would be a really good time for Damon to remember his manners. Upsetting a guy that could break chains meant to hold a vampire down was not a good idea. Nervous now, she walked quicker to the library. She really should have thought the whole 'Elijah and Damon in the same room' idea over a bit more.

Addie spun on her heel and back towards the hall after having taken one step into the living room. It was one thing to hear Damon hurt but seeing him so _broken_ made the situation far too real, even if the imminent danger had passed. Stomach acid burned her throat as she tried to push the away the sight of Damon soaked in blood, _his_ own blood. She sunk to a crouched position, fighting against nausea, dizziness and the prickling in her eyes that always preceded tears. Blood made her queasy and the bitter, metallic scent was pungent in the air. Damon soaked in his blood, and there was so much more than any human could have survived losing, was horrifying. Some kind of collar rimmed with wooden rods had been wrapped around his throat, which was colored crimson. Had that been how they were torturing him? Wasn't being punctured with a pencil enough torment for such a sensitive area for one day?

"So you realize this is the third time I've saved your life now?" Addie heard Elijah conversationally point out to Damon. A second lapsed and then his steps echoed towards the exit, towards her. The light reflected off his shoes as they stopped directly in front of her. His voice was quiet and if she had considered herself less intelligent, she would have believed the concern to be sincere, "Addison, are you alright?"

The last thing Addie would consider herself to be was any form alright but after a minute, she was able to stand with the support of the living room entrance frame. "One must question the logic in running around with vampires if the sight of blood makes me so upset," she answered weekly, with a forced laugh. "Thank you for coming. I - we both owe you, for more than once," Addie said, holding out her hand.

Elijah nodded at her thanks and smiled, polite as ever, "I appreciate the gesture but it would be quite inconsiderate of me to cover your hand in blood. As long as your sister maintains her end of our agreement, you are in no way indebted to me; I am merely keeping up my half of the deal. Thank you for your respect. Others could learn from your example."

Addie frowned, knowing he meant Damon, "I'm working on that."

"Nonsense; that isn't your job or responsibility. Take care, Addison. Hopefully the next time we meet it will be under better circumstances," the Original farewelled. She grimaced doubtfully and locked the door behind him.

Clanking chains indicated movement from Damon but Addie was determined to keep her back to him and the gruesome scene of bodies scattered across his living room. In the kitchen, she pulled out two pint glasses from the cabinet over the sink. After a brief hesitation, Addie pulled out two blood bags from the fridge and tried to ignore the churning of her stomach. He'd been taking care of her all day; it was the least she could do for him. The bags didn't exactly have instruction manuals on how to open them and so it took her a few attempts. Addie tried to pretend it was just red water she was handling but the weight and density just didn't match. Her eyes screwed tightly against the imagine of blood flowing from the bag and into the glass. The concentrated scented made her gag.

As she tried to squeeze the last bit out of the bag, Addie felt a tug at it. She opened her eyes and kept them trained directly on the glass, afraid of seeing Damon. The large silver and blue ring told her it was his hand taking the empty blood bag from her. His voice was scratchy and gently, yet confident and firm, "Stop, Ads. I think you might literally be a sick shade of green. You're going to be ill and I've handled as much of you being sick a I possibly can today."

"I can do this," Addie insisted, fumbling to open the second bag.

Damon pressed a kiss to the back of her head, moved the glass of blood out of her line of sight and again took the blood bag from her. "You don't have to, though. It means the world to me that you would but you don't need to. I've got this." He moved to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of lemon-lime Gatorade before setting it in front of her. "Take this, hydrate and go wait for me in the study. I'll come get you once I've cleaned up the living room and showered."

"I'll be waiting for you in bed," she conceded, grabbing the bottle and shuffling sideways between Damon and the counter.

Damon grabbed the back of his shirt, halting her progress, "Study."

She reached back and took his hand, squeezing it. "I'll be waiting for you in bed. I don't want to be down here, ok?"

"Alright," he sighed, thinking of how he could avoid her seeing him covered in blood.

* * *

Addie chewed at her lip as she kept her hands busy with changing the sheets. She tried to keep her eyes from wandering towards the bathroom, where Damon had been in the shower for what felt like eternity. He sounded ok. He'd said he was ok. She wasn't going to believe that he was actually fine until she saw him with her own eyes. Her heart accelerated when the water shut off.

Damon cleared his throat once he had a towel securely wrapped around his waist. Addie had been tense and jumpy and he couldn't blame her. Despite what had happened, he had to make her see that, he would never let anyone hurt her. Before he could say anything, though, she'd caught him in a hard kiss.

"You're ok," whispered Addie, her hands cupped his face, her fingertips traced over his cheekbones and lips.

He nodded, capturing her hands under his and holding them against him, "Of course I am. I'm so-"

"There's no 'of course!' They were going to _really_ hurt you," she hissed, pulling him into a hug. His shirt pulled water from Damon's bare chest. Normally the wet shirt would have bothered her but Addie didn't care at the moment; she was too caught up in just feeling Damon safe and sound.

"But they didn't," Damon reminded her, rubbing soothing circles at her back. "Everything is fine."

Her arms closed tighter around the vampire as Addie pointed out, "Only because Elijah showed up and saved you _again._ You can't kill him, Damon."

Damon was quiet for a few seconds as he thought of a rebuttal. The Original had Addie convinced that he was on her side but she was really just confused. How Damon was going to make her see that Elijah was just using her and Elena he wasn't certain as of yet. "It all would have worked out either way."

A bitter laughed escaped from Addie. "No, it wouldn't have. How exactly were you going to take on a bunch of werewolves from where you were?"

"I was working on a plan," Damon bit back. "Besides, Ric was going to wake back up in no time and then it would have been both of us against them. Plus we would have had the element of surprise because they thought he was dead."

A strip of pink colored the freshly healed skin along Damon's neck that Addie traced over gently. She suppressed a shudder and kissed him again before asking, "Are you trying to convince yourself or me?"

He sighed and brushed his lips against her forehead, "You have to believe that I would never have brought you here if I thought you were in danger."

"I know you wouldn't," Addie agreed. She jumped as her cell phone began to ring. The sounded reminded her of something. "By the way, I had to borrow your phone to call Elena to call Elijah. You should change your lock."

Frowning, Damon muttered, "I don't see why I would change my lock. It's not like I'm trying to hide anything. Though how you got it in the first place is a little perplexing."

She snorted humorously, "Well, it wasn't that difficult to put two birthdays together. I mean, it took me like fifty tries but if you weren't so cliche and predictable sometimes you'd be dead."

"I'm not cliche or predictable," grumbled Damon.

Her small hand patted his cheek lightly and Addie smiled back smugly, "You are but it mostly only seems that way because you're becoming a lot easier to read. I like it."

"You're annoying."

Addie shrugged and smirked at Damon as she pulled away from him and back towards the bed. When his phone started to ring, her features rearranged into a scowl. "No, whoever is calling is annoying."

"First your phone and then mine? It's probably your sister," surmised Damon, digging through his dresser distractedly. "Didn't you say you called her?"

Rhythmic beeps came from the device again and Addie took it between her thumb and forefinger as if it were diseased. Without obvious disgust she held it out towards Damon. "Ew. I don't want to talk to Elena. I find that I prefer when we converse on a life or death basis."

Damon's bright blue eyes rolled and he took the cell from Addie. A surprised eyebrow raised when he read the caller ID. He answered with a falsely chipper tone, "Witchy Witch, what can I do for you?"

Addie stared at Damon in confusion but he refused to meet her eye. Witchy Witch? Had Bonnie called her nemesis for some bizarre reason? But why would she call Damon rather than Addie? Unless she just had. What could she possibly be telling Damon to make him frown so much? To make his eyebrows knit together and his forehead wrinkle? Why did he look so dark and upset?

After just listening for about three minutes, Damon hung up the phone without another word. "Well?" Addie asked curiously from the bed, ignoring his frosty glare.

Damon shook his head before disappearing into his closet to put on the boxers from his desser. His lips twitched angrily as he ran his hand through his hair, still very wet from the shower, and he sat on the edge of the bed. Addie's small, sot hand landed on his shoulder but he brushed it off in irritation.

More annoyed than concerned,Addie huffed, "What's wrong?"

"The boy wizard spilled all the juicy little plots of Elijah's plan. Elena dies, Addie. Haven't I told you not to trust this guy?"

Addie sighed in exasperation, "I already told you that Elijah has a plan but you didn't want to hear me. Yes, Elena dies but she doesn't stay dead. He has some magic potion that will bring her back to life that he was going to originally use on Katherine."

A groan came from behind Damon's hands as he dragged them over his face, "You were serious? You're actually putting your faith in that? Addie, come on! You're smarter than trusting Elijah and a magic potion."

"What would you have me believe in?" Addie snapped harshly. "Elijah is providing the only chance, the only glimmer of hope that my sister makes it out alive! Come up with a better idea and I will gladly go along with whatever plan you have. Right now, Elijah's plan has the least number of casualties."


	31. Chapter 34

Morning song birds twittered happily in the tall American sycamore trees, most branches just beginning to sprout leaves as April rolled in. Dead leaves rustled with the gentle breeze. Twigs and mulch crumpled under the feet of Elijah, Jenna, and Addie as Jenna took the Original vampire on a tour of some of the historical parts of Mystic Falls. When Jenna had asked her niece if she had wanted to tag along this morning, Addie was quick to jump at the chance. She might have been trusting Elijah to keep her loved ones safe and to uphold his end of the deal with Elena but that didn't mean she had to be fond of the idea of her aunt spending time with a murderous vampire who could change his mind at any minute. Elijah didn't _seem_ like the type of person who would snap and do that; that was more Damon's style, but it didn't mean that Addie was any fonder of leaving her aunt unprotected. Unconsciously, she rubbed at the stake tucked under her shirt and the waistband of her jeans. It would be very unlikely that she would actually be able to hit Elijah and it definitely wouldn't stop him but hopefully it would give Jenna enough time to get away if the situation did turn dire.

They eventually made their way to an area of the trees that was less dense and off in the distance wooden fence post could be seen about 50 yards away. Jenna pointed to them and informed, "The old Fell property actually starts just beyond that fence."

There were no Fell children that lived in the area close to Addie in age so she had never really gone onto their property. With the knowledge of how approximately how far they were from the manor though, she was surprised to learn about how much land the family owned. It wasn't as much as the Lockwoods but it was definitely more than other families Addie knew.

"Ah, the Fells. One of the _Founding Families_," Elijah replied with a hint of distaste.

Addie's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the vampire curiously, "Why do you say it like that?"

"My research showed me that this area was actually settled almost two full centuries earlier. It was a migration of townsfolk from the northeast. It was Salem to be precise."

"Massachusetts? As in the witch trials?" Jenna asked.

Elijah nodded, "Which means that the ever-lauded founding families didn't actually found anything."

"But weren't there Tutelo and Saponi Native Americans in the area long before Massachusetts was even colonized by Europeans? I mean, if that's the case couldn't you argue that the people from Salem didn't even really _find_ anything except for lasting developments because they weren't forced out of their homes?" Addie equipped back, for some reason feeling personally offended that Elijah had discredited the Founding Families.

Jenna gave Addie a chastising look and spoke before the Original could respond, "Well, I bet it was the men who made a big deal about being founders back in 1860. Men are very territorial."

"Yes, they are," Elijah answered slightly warily as he watched Alaric approach their little group.

"Elijah, this is my friend, Alaric Saltzman," Jenna said, introducing the two men. Addie's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. Since when had Alaric and Jenna been just _friends_?

The man smiled but his eyes were hard, "Yeah, I got your message about walking Elijah here through the old property lines. I thought I would tag along, you know, being a history buff and all. Where to next?"

"I'm pretty curious about the freed slave property owners. Some say, you know, the descendants of the slaves are the true keepers of American history," the vampire answered, looking hopefully at Jenna.

"Well, I only brought the surveys. I got that list in the car. Just give me a sec," Jenna excused herself, heading towards the small hill her vehicle was parked on.

Elijah gave the younger man a once over before nodding slightly, "Alaric Saltzman. So, you're one of those people on Elena's list of loved ones to protect."

"Friendly reminder," Addie interrupted holding up a finger and looking at him innocently, "everyone here is on the list of loved ones to protect."

Alaric was glaring daggers at Elijah to which the other made a joke, always maintaining his air of politeness. "You don't have to be so jealous. I don't really pursue younger women."

Addie's lips pursed in thought, "No offense but I can't see how that can possibly be true. You're an Original. That's like the oldest of the old. Everyone is younger than you."

"Both of you need to lighten up and not be so serious," Elijah grinned and patted Alaric on the shoulder. "It's a joke."

"Right," muttered the other man.

* * *

Alaric had departed shortly after he arrived after some strong encouragement from Addie. For some reason elevated amounts of testosterone seemed to lead to trouble. Elijah was brutal, as she had pointed out, and Alaric would be just as capable of doing nothing as Addie if he turned on them.

Jenna had taken Elijah and Addie out to the freed slave property as he had requested and made a few other historical stops, including the Founder's Hall, the cemetery, Wickery Bridge, and Fell's Church. Addie had to admit that the vampire had done his homework before coming to pose as someone who would be writing on the area; he knew a lot about the history. What exactly Elijah was playing act by putting on this elaborate ruse, she wasn't exactly sure. However, he had been nothing but perfectly nice to Jenna and her all day. Addie wouldn't say she trusted him but he didn't give off that negative energy of deception like Damon and Stefan had when she had first met them.

Addie paled as she walked into the Mystic Grill with Jenna and Elijah. Right in her line of sight Damon and Alaric were sharing a booth. Even though she wasn't religious, she crossed her fingers and prayed that they stayed clear of the two. Apparently her aunt didn't receive telepathic messages as she headed directly towards their table.

"Hey guys," Jenna greeted the two men cheerily.

Damon smiled back before raising an inquisitive eyebrow at Addie, "So I hear you guys had quite a meeting of historical minds today."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she answered noncommittally. Addie wasn't exactly fond of upsetting Damon but she wasn't going to feel bad for following her aunt and keeping an eye on Elijah.

Alaric cleared his throat uncomfortably and set down some money on the table before getting up. "Well, as much as I'd like to continue this, I've got papers to grade."

"We should definitely continue this," beamed Damon, quick to follow Alaric's words. "You know what? We should have a dinner party! I'll be happy to host."

Addie had begun shaking her head the moment Damon had opened his mouth. Anything involving him and Elijah in the same room was a very, very stupid idea. He had already admitted to wanting to murder the Original. If Damon was actually stupid enough to try and kill Elijah a second time, Addie wasn't quite sure he'd be so forgiving this time, deal or no deal. Besides, it was like she had told Damon; Elijah was Elena's best chance of surviving Klaus' crazy sacrifice. "You really don't want to continue this. It's just a bunch of local history. You'd find it quite boring," insisted Addie.

Damon brushed her off, "On the contrary, I'd find it quite interesting. There is much culture in these small towns like Mystic Falls. How about tonight?"

"Or the 10th of never?" scowled Addie.

Alaric hesitated, glaring at Damon, "I don't know if tonight works…"

"Yeah, I'm free," answered Jenna, oblivious to the mounting tension between her niece, boyfriend and Damon.

Elijah smiled and was as polite as always, "It'd be a pleasure."

"Great!" exclaimed Damon, clapping his hands together. "Well, if you will excuse me, I have a dinner to set up for."

* * *

"Hey!" John smiled when Addie came down the stairs early that evening. "You've been AWOL since I've gotten here. How's my favorite niece?"

"I'm sorry," she apologized sheepishly, hugging her uncle. "I've been a little busy and then I was under the weather. I wouldn't let Elena hear you going on about that favorite niece stuff."

John's laugh was slightly bitter, "Well, Elena isn't _technically_ my niece. Besides, I don't think she'd be particularly thrilled to be my favorite anything. You're pretty much the only one in this house who doesn't hate me, especially after the last time I was here."

Thinking about the way her family behaved caused Addie's lips to pucker as if she had sucked on a lemon. She slumped into the couch and crossed her arms in front of her. "It's because, for the most part, everyone in this house is blind and immature. Jenna hates you because you have history. Elena hates you because you tried to kill her boyfriend. Jeremy hates you because you did kill his girlfriend. What neither of them get is that you were doing it in an attempt to protect them. I understand where you're coming from; I tried to help you. If I could just get rid of all the vampires and we could go back to being normal kids, I would do it."

"Really?" he uncle quipped back disbelievingly. "Speaking of people who should have died and being rid of vampires, can you imagine my surprise when I found out that Damon Salvatore made it out of that burning building? I made sure he was thoroughly weakened myself. No way could he have gotten out on his own. You wouldn't happen to know about how he did that?"

Addie picked at invisible lint on her navy and black sweater dress as she chewed at her lip nervously. "He saved my life," she lied. John wasn't going to be happy that she helped Damon survive and he would definitely be pissed if he knew it was because she had feelings for him. "Dad raised us to always settle our debts. I couldn't just sit by and just let him die when I basically owed him my life."

John frowned; that was just the sort of nobility crap his brother Grayson would teach his children. It would not matter whether a person did or did not deserve the gratitude; they'd receive the same treatment they had shown. Though he had a hard time imagining Damon saving Addie's life. Sternly he inquired, "And now that your debts are paid?"

"Damon and I are on equal footing and I don't feel obligated to tell him anything or protect him."

"And what about getting rid of him?"

It didn't seem wise for John to find out that she had essentially had a change of heart and was pro-Damon. Her uncle had already tried to kill him once and he would probably try again. Outright admitting how she felt about Damon would likely bring any ideas John had to fruition sooner. Their hatred of each other was deep enough that nothing she said would stop either one of them if it came to that. Addie sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, "I'm not concerned with that right now. He's not a nuisance and causing trouble like when he first got here. And it's one more person looking out for Elena. I suppose we have a terse agreement of cooperation for the sake of everyone else and to prevent World War III."

"Remember that you can't trust vampires," John cautioned.

"I know."

At that moment Jenna joined them in the living room. She grabbed her big, black purse off the coffee table and looked at Addie, pointedly ignoring John. "You ready to go?"

"Where are you two off to looking so nice?" the man asked his niece nosily, knowing Jenna wouldn't answer him.

Addie grimaced, "Damon is hosting a dinner party to learn more about Elijah's new book."

His dark brown eyes began to dance with interest, "Really?"

"Yes. Quite monotonous. Quite dull. Nothing to be interested in," she replied sharply, not missing the twinkle in his eyes. With a few long strides, she was quickly past Jenna and then out the door.

* * *

The plates clattered against the large mahogany table followed by the dainty plinks of silverware being set down filled the dining room as Addie and Jenna set the table for dinner. Addie couldn't help but notice that there had been awkward undertones to the evening already. Jenna was unusually reserved. Alaric was distant. Damon was the same as usual though he didn't throw impromptu dinner parties without some underlying agenda.

"So what's going on between you and Alaric? I feel like there's some tension," Addie tried to ask casually. She wasn't good at _girl talk_ but an entire evening with everyone being uncomfortable would have been much worse.

"I don't know," her aunt sighed back heavily. "I really like him."

Addie rolled her deep blue eyes, "Some days you guys are worse than Stefan and Elena. You more than like him."

"Ok, I more than like him. I really want things to work with him, too, but I can't help feel that he's hiding something from me," admitted Jenna.

Hiding that his dead wife was actually a vampire? That he was a vampire hunter but at the same time his best friend was also a vampire? None of it was really stuff Addie faulted Alaric for hiding. Actually, she was grateful that he had kept Jenna out of the supernatural mess. At least someone in her family could maintain a sense of normalcy. Addie shook her head, "I think you're just paranoid from Logan Scumfell. He kept his cheating a secret so now you have to think every seemingly decent guy you fall for must be keeping something from you. I think Alaric presents himself as a pretty straight up and honest guy."

"You're probably right," Jena conceded, "but it's not made any easier when John is whispering things in my ear."

Addie's eyebrows raised in mild surprise, "Like what?"

"Things I don't want to believe. Things I _don't_ believe, not if they're coming from John's mouth," the other woman answered dismissively.

A light blush flooded Addie's cheeks as she felt a slight twinge of annoyance with her uncle. It was one thing for John to mess with Damon and Stefan and to try and get them out of his family's life because they were dangerous vampires but it wasn't fair of him to target Jenna and Alaric, especially when Alaric was doing the best he could to keep her safe.

"Don't believe whatever John says," Addie reassured Jenna. "You know he just has a tendency to stir up trouble. You just have to trust Alaric; that's what a relationship is all about."

"Do you trust Damon?"

Addie was taken aback by her aunt simply asking about Damon and her, as if it was completely normal. Apparently his compulsion had worked. "Not as far as I could throw him. Well, actually it depends. I don't exactly trust that he's going to make the smartest, most logical and rational decisions. I do trust that he usually _thinks_ he's doing whatever is in my best interest." She looked over the set table thinking for a moment. "I'm actually going to go check on him," Addie decided, heading towards the study. Damon was undoubtedly up to something stupid involving Elijah and she thought things might work out a little better if she could convince him to change his mind. It was a long shot to persuade Damon out of doing what he wanted to do but she had to try.

"Can you get Ric to help me with the wine?" she heard Jenna call after her and to which she gave a thumbs up.

Taking the stairs down into the library, Addie caught Damon's words, "It's just a fact-finding mission. It's totally harmless."

"So you are up to something," Addie frowned at Damon disapprovingly.

Alaric looked at the vampire as if he couldn't believe he was even trying to be serious and repeated, "Just a fact-finding mission."

Damon raised his hands defensively, "I'm just out to figure out what the hell Elijah's end game is. No harm, no foul."

"His end game is to kill Klaus," Addie drew out slowly, like she was explaining a very difficult concept. "Well would you look at that! Now you know! So stop whatever you're plotting and try and act civil. He might have a deal with Elena to keep everyone safe but you have this uncanny ability to make people want to kill you. I think homicidal impulses trump a deal."

"Everything is going to be perfectly _fine_," Damon emphasized.

"Your definition of fine and the rest of the world's definition of fine are very different. Alaric, Jenna wanted you to help her with the wine."

"Listen, no sneak attacks. No surprise plans. Nothing that's going to put Jenna in harm's way. Okay?" Alaric said warningly before leaving.

Addie sat on a chair's armrest and studied Damon. The smile he gave from over his glass of scotch was innocent enough but she wasn't buying it. Knowing just how much damage Elijah could cause, she bit at her lip nervously and pled, "Alaric's right. Please, don't do whatever you're planning tonight. It's not fair to put him and Jenna in Elijah's path of wrath should you invoke it."

Damon rolled his eyes, "Give me some credit, Ads. I'm not stupid enough to piss off the Original vampire who's pumped up by the steroid of time. When I go to kill him this time I'm not going to miss and he won't be around to be upset."

"How do you even think you're going to kill him? His powers are all better than yours. Elijah is stronger and faster. You'd never beat him. Not to mention that I kind of need him _alive_ for his magic potion to bring Elena back to life after Klaus kills her. " Addie pointed out.

"Well, I'd never win in a fair fight," he admitted, "but it's a good thing I don't play by the rules. I'll simply catch him when he's off guard. And stop talking about some witchy potion. I'm not going to let you put your faith of your sister's revival on some bogus magic we know nothing about. We _will_ find something that will save Elena from the sacrifice or we will just have to kill Klaus first.

"I highly doubt Elijah is going to let his guard down enough for you to get the chance to kill him. He's going to catch your little surprise attack and it's going to turn into a bloodbath. And we've looked for another way to save Elena. Elijah is the only option. Somehow, I don't really think we'll be able to kill Klaus. At least not unless we work with Elijah, which requires the sacrifice to happen. Besides, keeping him alive is beneficial to your health. Werewolves would have already killed you twice if he hadn't swooped in to save the day. You can't try to kill him, Damon. I begging you."

Damon set down his glass and walked over to Addie. He took one of her trembling hands in his and brushed his lips on the back of her knuckles. Smirking, he held up his free hand like he were taking an oath, "I won't. Scout's honor."

Addie eyed the vampire critically, "Let's be serious; you have anything but the integrity of a boy scout."

"You don't know that. An organization that big is bound to have a few bad seeds that are nearly as honorable as me," he smirked wickedly.

Her lips pursed as she replied sourly, "You're not exactly honorable."

"That's true 95% percent of the time," conceded Damon before kissing her softly, "but not tonight. I'm not going to do anything where you could get hurt. Tonight will be smooth sailing."

"Promise?"

Damon chuckled and pulled her into an exaggerated hug, "Yes, yes, I cross my heart and hope to die again. Trust me, Ads."

"You know, sometimes I really question my sanity in when I do trust you," she mumbled.

He laughed, pulled her to her feet, and towards the door, "That's probably a very good idea. Right now, you have nothing to worry about though. I believe I heard our guest of honor."

"Oh what a wonderful joy," muttered Addie sarcastically as she followed Damon into the hall. The doorbell began to ring. Stupid sneaky vampires and their super hearing.

They had barely turned into to the hall when Jenna, her face as red as her hair, demand to know, "Who invited him here?" before stomping by them.

A groan of despair tried to force its way out from Addie as she tried to inconspicuously pull distance between herself and Damon. The noise was stopped but her efforts but her other attempt was futile. Instead, the vampire had pulled her closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Addie's cheeks burned hot with embarrassment and at the knowledge that Damon had do that just to that to upset John. Judging by the way her uncle's eyes narrowed so much she doubted he could see out of them and his lips pressed so hard together that they were bloodless.

"John," Damon acknowledged dryly. "Surprise. Leave."

The man plaster a false grin on his and saunter through the front door. "When Addie told me her and Jenna were coming over for a Dinner party for Elijah, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games."

Remembering her slight annoyance with John, Addie leaned into Damon's side and crossed her arms in front of her, trying to look strict. Her voice was steely when she spoke, "I already told you that it is was going to be boring, dull, and monotonous. There are no _fun and games_, Uncle John."

With an eye roll and a shrug Damon agreed, "Exactly what Addie said. She wants it to just be a dinner so that's all it's going to be."

"Then I'll just take this opportunity to get to know Elijah a little better," the other man replied smugly, casually strolling into the house.

Addie stepped away from Damon to such the door. "What was that?" she said, turning to hiss at him.

"You're uncle being a nosy dick?"

"Not him. _You._ Why were you purposely trying to piss him off?"

His bright eyes hardened, "Why does it bother you so much? Is it because you want his approval and you know he'll be upset with you if he knows you're with me?"

"I get that I'm the only one who actually kind of likes him. I completely understand where he's coming from. Had I been raised like him, I don't think I would have done anything different. I respect him but that doesn't mean I'm desperate for his approval. It's _you_ I'm worried about! He's already tried to kill you once and if I hadn't had a last minute change of heart and a best friend who would do anything for me, he would have. You got lucky. John's calculating and smart. He's already pissed at you for surviving so he _might_ try and kill you just for that. If he knows about us. You're definitely dead," Addie explained in hushed words, not wanting to be overheard.

His hands wrapped around her shoulders and squeezed reassuringly, "Noth-"

"Don't you dare say 'nothing is going to happen,'" she snapped, her voice breaking "or that 'everything will be fine.' When do things ever work out that? If we've learned anything from recent events, someone ends up dead or almost dead if luck happens to be on our side."

"What if I can stop you from worrying about one pretty big thing? Would that help?" he asked with a crooked smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

Her eyes scanned his face dubiously, "What have you done?"

"Nothing. I promise. I heard it Serif Forbes who heard it from a very distraught Carol Lockwood that her son left town last night. The werewolves really wanted them to join their freakish pack. By my count there are only two of them left though. One flew out of here like a bat out of hell when Elijah started ripping out hearts. My guess is that they took Tyler and left town. I can't imagine that pup running on his own, can you?" Damon finished, smiling at the slight upturn at Addie's lips.

She peered around the hall and Damon to make sure they were alone before her hands slipped around the back of his neck, and she melted against him as she felt the silky raven strands of his hair. Damon's slipped around her waist and his lips opened under hers and he growled softly, low in his throat. Quickly, she broke the kiss and stepped back.

"People are here," Addie whispered, lightly hitting his bicep with the back of her hand.

With exaggerated motion, Damon looked around the hallway before concluding, "There's no one _here_."

"No but someone could walk up at any second," she sneered over the knocking at the door.

"Para-_noid,_" he replied in a sing-song voice, opening the door. Elijah stood on the other side with his ever present, polite smile on his face.

"Elijah," Addie said friendly, coming to stand next to Damon.

"We're so glad you could make it," Damon chimed in. "Please, come in."

Whether it was impulse or the sinking, hollow feeling that made Addie block the Original from entering, she wasn't sure. With a deep breath her voice steadied, "Before you do, I think it might be a good idea for all of us to understand exactly how this night will is not simply a friendly dinner party."

"I don't know about Elijah but I have no dishonorable intentions. I already promised you that I wouldn't do anything. Addie, you say you trust Elijah and I want us to be on the same page in this but for that I need to get to know him better. That's all that this is about," Damon lied smoothly, slowly pulling Addie out of the doorway and blocking her protectively.

"Hmm. Well, that's good." the other vampire said darkly, his smile gone. "Because, you know, although Elena and I have this deal, if you so much as make a move to cross me, I'll kill you and I'll kill everyone in this house. Are we clear?"

"Crystal."

"Elijah!" Jenna exclaimed, entering the area.

Once again Elijah's smile was back in place, as if he had not threatened to kill her two seconds ago. "Jenna. Wonderful to see you again. How are you again?" he asked, walking towards her where they exchanged pleasantries and headed towards the dining room.

The shutting of the door bounced slightly off the walls as Damon closed it just a bit harder than he had intended. He turned sharply on his heels and raised his hands up questioningly at Addie. Careful to enunciate, he mouthed, "What the hell."

Just as clearly, Addie silently responded, "Behave."

Damon rolled his eyes and traced a halo on the crown of his head. She slipped her hand into his, just to squeeze it in thanks but he didn't let go once she had. After giving her a small smile, they went into the kitchen to start serving the food chicken cacciatore, an Italian dish Damon claimed to be a master chef of.

Much of the dinner was quite uneventful and a bore, just like Addie had hoped. While Addie had moved her tomatoes and basil onto Damon's plate, the salty mozzarella and olive oil in the caprese salad had been beyond delicious. As a lover of cheese, she would have to ask him where he had gotten it; it was so fresh and strong. When Damon had shown her the spaghetti algio e olio, in continuing his Italian theme, Addie was surprised that he had found her favorite food prepared in something other than Alfredo sauce because it was a little touching how he remembered how she didn't like tomatoes. He had gone with the caprese salad specifically because he wanted her to taste the amazing mozzarella. While the Italian wine Damon had paired with the dinner was passed around, he sneaked off to prepare Addie a coffee flavor granita siciliana, which was similar to a slush.

They held hands beneath the table and Damon traced random patterns along her palms. Addie looked over at him and smiled slightly. With the elbow of his free hand propped on the table and his chin rest in said hand, he looked thoroughly bored. His eyes were glazed over and distant. The topic of conversation was currently Mystic Falls during the Civil War Era. Why would he want to hear recounts when he had lived it?

"Thank you," Addie said low enough so only Damon could hear, "for thinking about me when planning your menu and for a _dinner party_."

He gave her a charming half smile and winked, "Anything for you."

"I know it's hard for you."

With a sigh Damon ran his hand over his face and shook his head. He glanced over at Elijah who was thoroughly absorbed in telling Jenna about the 27 _civilians_ burned in a church in 1964. "That's just the thing," Damon replied, his voice much lower, "caring for you is affecting my judgement. Everything I do, I do for you. I worry about you and want to make you happy and I don't do the things I should."

A slight feeling of guilt crept over Addie but she pushed it back. "It's ok to do those things _if you want to_. I do them for you. But maybe, just maybe you're not doing _something_ because you're reasons are tied to pride than actual concern."

After staring at her for several seconds, Damon blinked slowly and said, "My girlfriend has been brainwashed by an accent, a smile, and good hair."

"Not your girlfriend. Not brainwashed. Logical," Addie snarled back.

Thankfully Jenna, her face flushed from the wine, cut in before he could reply, "I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is not a founder of this town."

"Really? Do tell," he requested, taking a sip from his glass.

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna and Addie earlier today, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s," the vampire answered wisely.

Damon pursed his lips in thought before they pressed into a thin line, "That is very odd. Are you certain it was exactly where Mystic Falls is or is it possible that it was just very close by? Or perhaps they migrated? My family retained old maps made by, I believe Giuseppe Salvatore made maps of the area in 1830. He charted what was wood, where the family made their money, and what was inhabited and who owned what. It's been years since I've looked at the maps but I don't recall there being much of a settlement documented."

Elijah nodded solemnly, "That's no surprise. The settlers originally moved here to escape persecution."

"Because they were witches," Jenna interjected mystically.

"That's ridiculous. Even the judges in Salem ruled that the so-called witches were not witches. Posthumously, of course, but still. There's not actual evidence that there were ever witches in Salem. Also, why would a whole group of people flee to the same place during a witch hunt? That's like setting off a signal fair. _And_ if witches were real, don't you'd think there would be a way to cover up their magic or were they stupid enough to go down Main street flying on brooms?" scowled Addie, again feeling irrationally snubbed for Elijah not considering her family to be a Founding Family. She wasn't exactly sure why she care. Growing up, she never thought she had been like the Lockwood or Fell kids who used their name to get whatever they wanted.

"You're not far from the truth. Essentially they did draw attention to themselves. Lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field and burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around. They were consumed by the fire," Elijah said sadly.

"When was this?" wondered Addie. What were the chances of a place having a settlement of witches and a settlement of vampires and the odd werewolf? Maybe she should try and convince Jenna to ship her off to boarding school before zombies showed up. Mystic Falls seemed like a supernatural magnet.

Jenna pretended to whisper behind her hand, "I wouldn't repeat that to the historical society.

John nodded in agreement, "Yeah. It's starting to sound like a ghost story to me.

Elijah ignored them and answered Addie, who was looking at him expectantly, "Historical documents but it around spring of 1973, when the trials in Salem were just beginning to phase out."

Addie smiled smugly and shrugged, "So, they didn't exactly 'found' the town. The witch trials started in February of 1672. The group was here for a year. Some migrating tribes move less frequently. If everyone was burned, the Founding Families would have just come across some ruins. They still had to build the town. If we're claiming 'foundership' based on who lived on it first it was the Native American."

"Addie is big on facts and very much of a literal concept person," Damon snickered from behind his wine glass. Addie light stepped on his foot and he smirked.

"But why would you want to know the site of these horrendous massacres? Personally, I find cemeteries too morbid."

Jenna laughed, "Everything is too morbid for you. Remember when we went to Washington and your dad had to wait with you outside of the theatre where Lincoln was shot?"

Daggers shot from Addie's eyes at her aunt. "How about I make your deathbed a tourist attraction? People can skip all around, throw rose petals in the air and completely forget all the grief and suffering that comes with death. That's why I don't like hospitals either; they're death plagues!"

"I amend my statement: overly rational and sane unless death or ghost are involved," Damon muttered.

"I have a health respect my inevitable demise but I'd much rather not even think about anything relating to it for at least 50 years. If ghost were real, you know who they would be? People who didn't respect death!"

"Oh, yeah. Your relationship with death is _real_ healthy, especially when it relates to other people," replied Damon pointedly.

Her jaw locked and she pulled her hand away from him. She knew he was getting at Elena and now was definitely not the place or time. Knowing Addie would get over it soon enough, Damon decided to focus on his mission, "Though, Addie makes a point. Why would you want to find the site? Archeological reasons?"

Elijah frowned and shook his head, "No, no. Nothing serious like that. Just a healthy historian's curiosity, of course."

"Of course," Damon agreed, not believing a word he said.

The conversation carried on for a few more minutes, mostly Jenna discussing her dissertation with Elijah. Damon lightly nudge at Addie foot in attempt to get her attention but she maintained an intense look of interest at the discussion that was taking. He finally got her to take notice of him when he wrapped both his feet around her ankle and began lifting it up and down.

The look Addie gave Damon was tired and exasperated. In a hushed voice she demanded, "What?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. But can you honestly say you won't be a complete wreck if this goes bad? I don't want to see you hurt like that. And the most selfish reason I can't have anything happen to Elena is because if you lose her I lose you. If something happens from her being involved in this lifestyle, my lifestyle, I'll never see you again. I need you to believe that I'm not going to let that happen," swore Damon, resting his hand on top of hers.

She nodded slightly and gave him a weak smile, "We'll discuss this later, ok?"

With a deep breath, he nodded slightly. "Will you do me a favor? Do you trust me?"

Addie looked at him skeptically, "I'm going to need more information before I answer that."

"I want to question Elijah more about his plan to kill Elijah and this potion. I know you have but I'd just feel a little more comfortable with him hearing it myself. I can't ask him anything in front of Jenna. Do you think you could keep her distracted?" Damon asked hesitantly.

Addie pinched the bridge of nose as she thought. Damon alone with Elijah was not an idea she liked. It wasn't that she didn't trust Damon not to do something stupid _but_ he just had a natural ability to set people off and she didn't trust Elijah not to kill him. She was fairly certain that if Damon wasn't helping to protect Elena, he'd be dead. However, if their talking helped smoothed things over in the slightest it was work the risk. "She hates John and her and Alaric need supernatural couples therapy. Elijah's the only person here she wants to talk to! Jenna and I don't bond well when there _isn't_ pressure for me to distract her."

"Please, Addie."

She nodded slowly after a minute of thought, "Ok, ok. Jenna, um, she loves to be in the kitchen. I can say I need her help with dessert."

"You've confessed to _literally_ boiling all the water out of a pot an burning the pot. You burned water! I need an actual plan, Addie!"

"I told you I got caught up in a really good mystery novel when that happened. It's the writer's fault for making it so captivating that I forgot. Dessert can be made simply with almost anything. I can even keep with your Italian theme if you have the right ingredients," Addie muttered, running through the list of treats her mother taught her that were simple and fairly quick. "Do you have ricotta and balsamic or mascarpone and sponge biscuits?"

Damon's brows furrowed in concentration as he mentally traveled through his kitchen in search of the items. "I only have a little bit of ricotta, probably not enough for what you're thinking. Balsamic and mascarpone are in the fridge. And would ladyfingers work for what you're thinking?"

"I'm going to need a shot of rum. It's for the tiramisu trifles," Addie huffed at Damon's skeptical expression before adding under her breath, "though I could probably use one to deal with all this insanity."

"It's not that bad."

"No, because you get some crazy thrill out of all of this! Some of us don't enjoy dinner parties where they are waiting to see who attacks first and wish we could go home to a sister that is not some doppelganger to be used as a human sacrifice."

Damon held her hand tightly and hoped that she could read the care in his eyes. "Ok. Let's just get tonight over with as soon as possible. How long can you get me with Elijah?"

"About 15 minutes; five minutes clearing the table, ten minutes to make dessert.

"Thank you," he whispered, reaching out to rearrange a stray lock of hair.

Before he could even make contact, Addie had already knocked his hand away and was looking at the other people down the table. "Not now," she ordered out of the corner of her mouth. When there was a brief pause in the conversation and Addie turned to the woman next to her. She sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth and with a few deep breaths her eyes were rimmed with tears. "Jenna?" she said quietly, placing a trembling hand on her aunt's forearm.

Jenna smile quickly turned to one of concern and confusion as she saw her youngest niece looking like she was on the verge of tears. Quickly, though soft as she knew that everyone focusing on Addie would only make her feel worse, she asked, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

'M-mom's t-t-tiramisus trifles, do you remember how to make them? I-I-I promised Damon I would make them to go with the Italian meal but I don't think I can do it on my own," Addie stammered backed quietly, trying to hold back false tears.

"Of course I remember. I'll help you whip up the treats in a snap," Jenna comforted her niece. "The boys can have a drink while they wait."

Knowing Damon was listening to every word of Jenna and hers conversation, she looked at him pointedly. A slight screeched echoed as his chair scrapped against the floor and he stood up. "Would anyone care for some cognac? I have a bottle that I've been saving for ages."

Addie shook her head and began to stack Damon's cleared plate on top of her own. "You already know my answer."

"None for me, thanks. Nine bottles of wine is my limit," Alaric laughed.

"Why don't you guys take your drinks in the study?" suggested Jenna, who was stacking plates, as well.

As Elijah made to stand he smiled, "I have to say the food was almost as wonderful as the company."

"Well, not everyone's company, surely. It's a bit of a shame that Damon's social skills aren't almost as wonder as his cooking," Addie sighed dramatically and shook her head sadly.

"I like you," Elijah chuckled lightly.

Addie finished picking up as many plates as she could carry and made her way into the kitchen. She set them on the counter and opened the industrial grade dishwasher, grateful that Damon's hatred of dish washing rivaled her own. Silverware and glasses particularly grossed her out; people's mouths had been on them. She began loading the machine when John came in and set down more dishes.

Accusatorily he asked, "What is going on between you and Damon?"

"You surely already have some scheme to kill him so does it really matter? I appreciate you looking out for me but you're not my father, _Uncle _John. His death doesn't give you the right to try and take his place either. So how about I convince myself into thinking that you're only motive is to protect Elena while you convince yourself into thinking there's nothing going on? I'm the only thing close to an ally that you have left in this family. Exile is a cold and lonely place. I'm not asking you to change who you are and I expect the same. Call it a mutual ignorement on the things we don't agree upon, ok?" Addie answered firmly, leaving no room for bargaining or questioning. Her focus never left from moving the plates to the dishwater.

John left the room and Jenna entered, setting her stack of plates down with more force than necessary.

"This family is a magnet for drama. What's wrong?" inquired Addie as she watched her aunt move plates into place with loud clanks.

"Nothing," Jenna muttered. "I'll finishes the dishes since you know where everything is. We need a glass for everyone, preferably clear –

With a shot glass of a coppery colored liquid in hand, Damon leaned against the counter next to where Addie was washing her hands. He set the glass down and pulled her hair over a shoulder so he could see her facial profile. "You didn't say what kind of rum. I went with a dark one since it's the kind most usually used for cooking. Is that ok?" he asked quietly, a hand resting at the small of her back.

Addie frowned, leaning slightly into the reassuring feel of his hand, "Uh, I didn't know there were types. I thought rum was rum. Jenna, what kind of rum do we need?"

"A gold or a dark for the sake of appearance. Since we're not cooking it the alcohol the way you should pick a rum is based on the one with the highest proof so you can have your dessert and get drunk off it, too."

Addie looked slowly back and forth from Jenna to Damon and back again before for dropping her head in mock despair. "Ladies and gentlemen, meet my alcoholic role models. It truly is a miracle that I've never tried it."

"You learn from our bad behavior. It makes perfect sense. You see our consequences and know you never want to suffer them. We do bad things so you never will," Damon reasoned, smirking.

"You're an idiot."

"You're mad because I'm right."

"You're wasting time."

Damon scowled as Addie stuck out her tongue at him before swiftly kissing her on the cheek. Before leaving he grumbled, "I hate it when you're right."

Addie opened up the cabinet and pulled out five cocktail glasses, trying to calm her blush before turning back to Jenna, who had just shut the dishwasher and was washing her hands. "So, I have the rum and the glasses. What else?"

"Whipped cream, ¾ pound of mascarpone, cocoa powder, 36 lady fingers, five tablespoons of sugar, your favorite, a cup and a half of espresso, and a mixing bowl," Jenna rattled off, ticking each item on a finger.

From the fridge the first two ingredients were retrieved and the next three could be found in the pantry and there was a large bowl in the cabinet under the island perfect for mixing. It was when it came to the espresso that Addie had a problem.

"Um, Jenna?" she croaked, staring at the elaborate coffee machine with intimidation.

The woman finished dumping the sugar over the creamy cheese before responding, "What's up?"

Addie pointed at the deluxe coffee maker and whispered nervously over her shoulder, "Damon always makes the espresso."

Jenna frowned and came around by her niece to look at the device. She squinted at all the little buttons for a moment before signing heavily and propping his chin in her hand as she rested against the counter.

"You can't figure it?" Addie asked nervously.

The older woman rolled her eyes, "I paid my way through college working in a coffee shop; I'm sure I can figure it out."

"What's wrong then?"

"You and Damon."

Addie ran her fingers through her hair and tried not to swear. Apparently Damon's compulsion _hadn't_ worked. They shouldn't have been so obvious. She _knew_ that was a stupid move.

Reading the distress on her face, Jenna was quick to back track, "Not _you guys_. You two are good together. The whole dinner, even when you weren't looking, Damon's focus was only on you. Then there were times when you two would go off into your own little world and it was like none of us were there. I _know _you guys were touching under the table and I could tell exactly when you were doing! You'd both get this calm, serene energy about you. Like with just a touch you knew you had each other's backs. And in everything he made, he thought about you. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a fancy meal when you're such a picky eater? It's hard to make a regular meal, Addie. And now you're making a dessert that you don't even like to stick with his Italian theme. And then that exchange just now? Most guys just would have brought whatever they had and assumed it was fine."

"What's so wrong with that?" Addie as she twisted a tea towel in her hands and kept her back to Jenna, not wanting her aunt to see the flame of her cheeks.

"Absolutely nothing," Jenna answered, a slight tinge of bitterness in her voice. "I just want to know why Ric can't be open and honest with me like that!"

"Just because Damon acts like that doesn't mean he's open and honest with me," Addie said quickly.

Jenna snorted and Addie heard beeps from the coffee machine, "Would he tell you about his past if you asked about it?"

The two worst things he had done, what had led him to shut off and turn on his humanity, he had told her about when she had asked but he did wait until he was ready. With no prompting he would go back into painful stories of when he turned. Damon had told her about what happened with Stefan; not all the details but she hadn't asked. There was only one area Addie was curious about and she knew for certain that he wouldn't _want_ to talk about it but he _would_. Whether or not he would tell the truth about Katherine and his past with her, she wasn't sure.

"Look, I kind of get where you're coming from with Ric," Addie sympathized, still finding it bizarre to be discussing relationships with her aunt. "I heard pretty bad things about Damon. I _knew_ some bad things about Damon. However, I liked the Damon I got to know and the way he treated me and I decided to focus on that instead of the past. If we were all judged by our pasts nobody would be liked. Now that Damon and I know each other better, he's told me the darkest parts of his but he did it all when _he_ was ready to, when he felt comfortable enough with e to share that. It's a question of do you feel like it's worth waiting around to get to that place?... On the other hand, I'm just a high schooler in my first relationship so everything I say could be complete bull."

"I don't know if you're wise beyond your years or seriously damage from being dropped on you dead as baby," muttered Jenna, still fidgeting with the coffee machine. "I think I got it. Grab me the measuring glass."

Addie nodded, despite the fact that Jenna couldn't see her and reached into one of the many cabinets and drew out the requested object. She almost dropped it when she turned around and saw Alaric in the entry way, one finger over his mouth and the other hand gesturing for him to follow her.

"Here," she said distractedly, placing the glass next to her aunt. "I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Back in the dining room, Alaric shoved his phone in Addie's hands. On it was a draft for a new text message.

_D is going 2 kill E but he will die 2. Keep the peace and get e in here 4 dessert. _

Addie's lips pursed into a fierce, thin line and her grip on the cell turned her knuckle white. After he had promised her no violence he was still going to kill Elijah. Furiously she deleted the words and typed back:

_I say we let him try then Elijah kills him for being an IDIOT._

Alaric snatched back his phone and quickly punched in:

_He _wont_ stop at D_

It was a challenge not to scream, stamp and stomp. Addie couldn't help the slight growl as she walked as calmly as possibly to the study. Alaric pushed his way in front of Addie so he could walk in before her. With great effort she managed to keep a casual smile on her face as she saw Damon fidget with something behind his back.

"Gentlemen, we forgot about the lovely dessert the women have made for us," Alaric interrupted grandly.

Addie held out her hand to Damon but her smile broaden and she held it out to the other vampire instead. "Elijah."

The Original handed his glass to Damon, who finished it, before taking Addie's hand. Addie giggled as he twirled her under his arm and they made their way out of the study. With her arm crooked in his they made their moved down the hallway slowly. "While dessert is a very important part of any dinner, I can't help but notice that Alaric and you seemed overly enthusiastic about it."

Worried that Damon and Alaric would catch up with them at any second, Addie pulled Elijah into the living room. Unlinking herself from him, she paced a few steps and ran her fingers through her hair. Inhaling loudly, she stopped in front of him and looked up, "I am gambling the lives of almost everyone I care about right now. This could turn out worse that the _Titanic_ but if it does not, I hope I am proving something to you. You're a man of honor and maybe this will count for something one day.

"Damon asked me to distract my aunt so he could find out more about your plan to kill Klaus and how the elixir for Elena was suppose was supposed to work. That is exactly what he told me at dinner right before we started clearing plates. Dessert was never a plan; it was my rouse to get Jenna out of the way. Alaric _just_ came in and told me that Damon actually planned on killing you. I swear, if I had any idea I would have told you before you even came over. I talked to Damon about this and he promised me that he wouldn't try anything and that he wouldn't do anything that would possibly get Jenna or me hurt. That's why I suggested you say what would happen if he tried anything, just as a reminder. Technically he now has and I could have just dug the graves for five people. Honestly, while I can believe he would do it to you and even be so arrogant to think that he could kill you without me getting hurt, I _never_ truly believed he would do this to me because he knows how important it is to me that you are alive for Elena's sake. I am so sorry, Elijah," Addie rushed out in one breath, two tears fallen from her left eye by the time she was finished.

Elijah stared at her for several seconds, a contemplative look upon his face before he nodded. Flatly but formal, he said, "Thank you for your honesty. I do not believe you would have knowingly led me into a trap. Do not worry about your aunt or yourself or your sister; you are not at fault here. Your aunt is naïve in this situation and Elena, you, and I see eye to eye on this. Mass punishment, while simpler, would simply be crude. If you wish to collect yourself before returning for dessert, I advise doing so. Mr. Salvatore will not learn from me that you filled me in on his plot."

"T-t-thank you but why?" Addie stammered, flabbergasted.

He nodded curtly, his lips twitch towards a genuine smile rather than the polite one for a fraction of a second. "You remind me of the potential of a girl I use to know. I like to think that if the world had given her a little less of what she wanted she would have turned out similar to you," Elijah answered before walking away to the dining room.

Slowly, Addie took a seat on the spot of the couch where it would be hardest for passersby to see her. In the presence of her own company, Addie finally felt it was safe to take of her mask and let the wrecking sobs rattle her body and tears stream down her face. It could have been two minutes or twenty minutes when she felt cool, slightly calloused hands circled around her wrist and pull hers away from her face.

"Please, please, please don't cry," Damon whispered urgently as he knelt at Addie's feet. He moved to wipe the tear from her face but she harshly batted his hands away.

"Don't touch me."

His hands over hers, hers knees, and next to her arms before deciding it was safe to rest them on the couch to the left and right of her. "Addie, I'm sorry I upset you."

"But you're not sorry you were going to kill Elijah," she sneered.

"No, I'm not sorry about that. I believed it was the best way to protect you. Ads, I've made contact with a lot of extremely powerful witches and have every one of them on a payroll looking out for an elixir that can bring a person back to life. I'm sorry, love, but it just doesn't exist. I thought it was better to kill Elijah now and getting you to stop hoping on his potion only to have him give Elena water, let her die, and pretend it must not have worked."

Addie laughed bitterly through a hiccup, "I told you Friday, where you were with me until you decided it was more important to go have a pissing contest with John. Then we met back up like six hours later? During that time you had a showdown with John, told Elena you were staying away from women, further taunted a bunch of werewolves who were already planning on killing you, and had your ass saved by _Elijah's_ witch, but I'm certain that left you with plenty of time to put out a mystical potion APB. Or maybe you did it Saturday while I was sick but wait! You had already decided by Saturday night that you were going to kill him. Alaric told you to think twice about using the dagger. Ok, let's argue that you had a change of heart and decided to wait until dinner tonight to see if any leads panned out. At most, a witch would have had 48-hours to live her own life and search for a very obscure piece of knowledge. The way I see it, there are two ways you can respond: you got trigger happy and jumped the gun or you're lying to me _again_ because apparently that seems to be all you're capable of doing today!" When Damon didn't answer after several seconds, Addie couldn't resist adding, "Or are you going to deny lying? Your fingers were crossed so it wasn't _really_ lying? You were just doing it to protect me?"

"Even the truth is going to be considered just another excuse-"

"Yep," Addie nodded, popping the "p."

"So why should I even argue or try to defend myself? With you, I can never win. Even if I want to, even if I try to be the good guy, I'm still the bad one," Damon sighed, resisting the urge to mess with his hair by tapping his finger on the couch.

Addie groaned and vehemently shook her head, "You can't do that, Damon. You don't get out of a fight by deflecting to pity or being misunderstood. I'm pissed off at you for lying and going behind my back and putting everyone in this house in danger and trying to kill off the only shred of hope I have because you disagree. I get that you have this who good/bad complex and you can't decide where the fuck you stand but I'm not going to let you use that as an excuse or feel bad because guess what: I dating a self-proclaimed serial killer, if I had a stake I would probably try and murder him at this moment, I'm the only person not trying to kiss my own ass to save my sister, and I just told Elijah what you tried to do which jeopardized everyone in this house but I won't eat dessert because it has alcohol in it and I don't want to break the law and I don't download illegal music even though iTunes get $.93 of my $.99 and if there is a volunteer opportunity to help kids or work with kids, I have a need to sign up. Am I good? Am I bad? Or do we all just need to grow the hell up and realize we live in shades of gray and no one is either? Damon, I ignore so much bad in you. So much. But I've seen enough shitty relationships to know I want to be in one where I'm not lied to." Addie paused to snort in a mixture of disbelief and betterment, "Thing is, you actually had me thinking I was in one. You had _Jenna_ thinking so. She's flipping out because Alaric's not telling her about vampires. She wants what we have because we're so open and honest with each other."

"Addie-"

Holding her trembling hands palms out right in front of his face, she cut him off, "See the shaking? They're twitching to strangle a certain idiot! I suggest we don't talk until the shaking stops and I can –"

Abruptly, Damon stood up and began walking towards the dining room.

Addie's face scrunched up as she thought and concluded, "Moody. Angst galore. Lies. Storms out in the middle of a fight. It's possible the guy I'm dating is becoming more like a typical teenage girl than I am."

"I will be happy to continue this after I figure out why someone just yelled from the dining room," snapped Damon, not slowing his stride.

It took a second to register his words but once she did, Addie was trying to shove her way into the dining room, which Damon was blocking.

"Go back to the living room. Go help Jenna."

Addie continually swatted and hit at Damon's arms as he tried to push her out of the doorway. "What happened?" she demand, still struggling to get in.

Damon licked his lips nervously, "First, I was with you. Second, Jenna's here so you can't scream. Third, I know I don't have your trust right now but you _really_ don't need to see a desiccated body right now."

Reflexively, Addie's hands clenched and unchlenched as she tried to calm herself down before using her shoulder to barrel in past Damon. She did her best to avert her eyes from Elijah, who was thankfully in a chair that didn't face her. "Which one of you did it?" First, she pointed at John and drew out, "You?" before turn to Alaric with a snapped, "Or you?"

"Uh, well, technically," he stammered, suddenly very interested in the scuff on his shoe, "it was a joint effort. It was Damon's idea to kill him. John gave Damon the weapon. I had to kill Elijah because if Damon did, he would have died which John didn't tell him.

Addie looked up at the ceiling and tried to count backwards from ten but only got to seven before snapping. "I'm killing all you! You for trying to kill Damon! You for trying to kill Elijah and trusting a weapon that _John_ gave you!"

"I checked my sources! Katherine sai-"

"Oh, hell no! Screw the other reasons. I'm killing you because you were stupid enough to believe something your self-serving psychotic ex-girlfriend that has a particular pleasure for torturing you said! You know what, Alaric, I'm not even bothering with, I mean you totally deserve it for listening to Damon _and killing me_ but I have to find something particularly suiting for Damon being such an idiot!" Addie ranted with dramatic hand gestures. "Get that body out of here before Jenna gets back. If she asks, tell her I've gone home for the night. I'm done playing Martha Stuart/Nancy Drew for the evening." She said, walking back out the door. John said something about the distance but she ignored it.

The truth was that she had no intention of going home but she did need to be left alone. Already Addie was feeling extremely guilty for some of the things she had said to Damon. Whether or not she wanted to break up with him over this incident, she wasn't sure yet. In most aspects of life she tended to be a very cautious person and this case was no different. If there was a chance that her and Damon would remain together, she wanted to do as they had said and not part upset. It would be one thing if she left upset with him as an internal, personal issue but leaving feeling guilty, over something he might be hurt about. That wasn't fair.

Addie decided to go to the study and cool off there; if they fought in his room, it would give negative connotations to it and even though the whole house was his turf, that area felt even more so, and the living room wasn't much of an option because everyone would see her when they went to leave. Off one of the end tables she picked up the last thing Damon had been reading, _Gone With the Wind_ and laid down on the couch. She could never decide if she was completely shell-shock that Damon was a sucker for classical romance novels or if it was one of the least surprising things about him. Of course, he liked to maintain that he liked the book because it was set during the Civil War. Like every time she tried to read it before, Addie quickly grew bored with it. What was it Damon and narcissistic, backstabbing women who needed the attention of every guy in town?

She really hoped that didn't say something about herself.

But it did kind of suggest that Damon had a type and if it didn't say something about herself that begged the question of why he was with her. Actually, a lot of things did that.

Addie slammed the book closed with a resounding _snap_ before remember that she was trying to keep a low profile. She put the book on the coffee table instead and decided to listen to her iPod instead. Instinctively she went to click shuffle but hesitated. There was a good majority of her music that would just put her in a worse mood. Instead she decided on the solo acoustic guitar playlist; light, harmonious, and no potentially upsetting lyrics. After about an hour, she could feel her pulse and breathing return to normal and while her thoughts were a little lighter, it was probably a good idea to wait another hour before confronting Damon. Those next sixty minutes turned into sleep at some point.

10101010101010101010101010101010101010101010

Damon kicked at the daggered Elijah's limp foot and tsked, "I have a feeling you're going to be even more of a pain in my ass dead than live. Well, who knows how long you'll even be dead. I'm sure I'll constantly be at war with my girlfriend, trying to stop her from waking you. Though, the girl makes me so damn crazy that I may end up undaggering you to see her smile."

Shaking his head Damon walked out of the cellar, closing and locking it behind him. Walking back upstairs he muttered, "I'm talking to corpse, my brother's trying to make me feel guilty for killing his best buddy, and I'm fairly certain my girlfriend was being literal when she said she wanted to kill me. I deserve a drink. I deserve many."

Damon made his way into the study and froze when he saw Addie stretched out on the couch. She'd said a lot of things that night but he was pretty certain the last were that she was going. Still, there she was with the blanket typically draped over the back around her. He noticed that his book had been moved to the coffee table; it was cute that she kept trying to read it but he knew she would never be able to, unless she was getting something out of it. The prejudice, bigotry, and slightly relatable characters would be far too for her. The problem was that Addie was usually entirely too rational about things that did matter and overly sensitive about the tiniest of details.

"Addie?"

No answer. He walked around in front of her and called to her again. Still no response. Damon then saw her headphones and became uncertain if she was asleep or just couldn't hear him. Since he didn't have to face her right away, either way, he made his way to his liquor cabinet and poured a glass of the Cognac from earlier. He considered the glass and then added some more; it didn't look sufficient full. With this ensuing fight and his night he definitely could have used a lot more, especially between his vampire tolerance and the one he built over nearly 155 years of drinking.

Damon spent the first 2/3 of his drink figuring out how he was even going to explain himself, if given the chance. The rest was dedicated to wondering if she was really awake and waiting for him to get close enough to stake, if he even had a girlfriend anymore. With the last sip he found the nerve to sit on the coffee table next to her. Carefully, he reached out and pulled the headphone from her ear. She didn't stir.

"Addie," he tried again, squeezing her shoulder slightly. She gave a quiet hum of acknowledgement. "You can't sleep on the couch. You know you're always welcome here. There are plenty of rooms you can pick from but I'm not letting you sleep on the couch."

"No, I didn't me-me-mean to fall asleep," she yawned. Their knees brushed against each other as she sat up. "I was just trying to calm down. I didn't want to leave up set. I said some things I really shouldn't have. Of course I don't want to kill you…. Ok, it flashed through my mind for half a second when I found out you were going off of information from on guy who wants you dead and Katherine, who has screwed you up and over in so many ways that I can't find a few words to condense her overall objective. You're one of the most suspicious, least trusting people I know and you were trusting _them_ over my judgement and the guy who saved your life twice, even if he did it for personal gain. I'd like to point out that John tried to kill you and Katherine got you killed. But really, it was more that you didn't trust my judgement so you decided to handle Elijah your way. What really hurts, Damon, is you were the one so hell bent on saving my sister for me. We finally have a possibility – which doesn't mean we can't keep looking for others – and you kill that possibility and now we're back to none."

Damon pulled a pencil out of his pocket and held it out towards Addie, giving her a cheeky grin, "I think killing me would kind of defeat the purpose of learning from my mistakes but I do deserve something for being stupid enough to trust John and Katherine."

Addie rolled her eyes, snatched the pencil from him and stuck it behind her ear. "How about we don't have a physically abusive relationship?"

"You hit me all the time," he laughed.

Addie frowned, "Well, does it hurt you?"

"Of course not."

"Does it bother you?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Damon said gently as he cupped her face and rested his forehead against hers. "I was just joking, love. It's doesn't bother me at all. I don't think you're being abusive. And it doesn't hurt and I know you're not trying to hurt me. I know because you start spazzing out the second you think you do. Our relationship is fine in that aspect." He kissed her softly but Addie was quick to pull away, pushing lightly at his chest.

"Ugh. Did you celebrate your kill in a distillery?" Damon looked at her in confusion. "What have you been drinking? I've gotten use to the alcohol-y taste but wow!"

Awkwardly, Damon scratched at the back of his neck. "That would be the Cognac. I forgot how strong it is. Sorry, I didn't think."

"I'm far less upset over Cognac than you lying to me. Damon, I thought you wanted this to work. How could you do that? You put my family in danger. You risked everyone's life on your arrogance that you could surprise a man who has been alive longer than we know. I asked you not to kill him; it was important to me. Did that mean nothing? You know, I'm trying not to be selfish and look at this from all perspectives but I keep coming back to the fact that you put _me_ in danger. I can see you not caring about Jenna and John's safety but you put my life on the line," Addie lamented, trying to understand.

Damon nodded his head slowly, unable to look her in the eye. Uncertainly he reached out for hand and was relieved when she let him hold it. Several minutes of silence passed before words that were even remotely similar to what he wanted to say. "You have no idea how much I meant it tonight at dinner when I told you that caring for you is affecting my judgement. Addie, I've never felt the way you make me feel. I've never cared for someone so much _and_ felt like I was just as cared for by them. I don't want to lose that, to lose us. I _know_ lying to you and killing Elijah makes it seem like I'm trying to make sure this doesn't work. But I thought it would all be worth it because I was doing it for you. Then you made that comment about me doing it out of pride. That couldn't have been it though because I was trying to protect you.

"Then these past few hours I've done some reflecting, which I hate, and maybe you were right and I was wrong, which I hate admitting even more. Why do I hate Elijah so much? Why do I think he's so dangerous? He's obviously dangerous to you because he's a vampire but then again so am I and he's posed as less of a threat to you than I have been. He didn't even kidnap Elena. Rose and Trevor did that. He's done nothing to hurt anyone except stab me in the neck."

"To be fair, you staked him to a door first."

"Exactly! That's where my problem with him started: I killed him and he didn't die. People tend to hold grudges when you don't successfully kill them. I had to get him before he got me or took it out on the people I… care about. Then he shows back and does nothing; he's like a snake waiting for the perfect time to strike. Then, to make matters worse, he buddies up with the one person I can't stand to see him with: you. This guys has your trust. He just swoops in and has it. Took me over six months," Damon spat bitterly.

Addie pulled her hand from his and rested it just above his knee, squeezing and rubbing small circles with her thumb. Even though she was mad at him, she didn't like to see Damon so up. With a small smile she tried to ease the mood, "Admittedly we had a much more complicated history to overcome. Because of that time we spent getting to know each other and repairing everything, I was pretty certain when I decided to trust you. I trusted Elijah to stick to the deal as long as he wanted to, not because there was some sort of connection like we have."

"It doesn't matter," Damon said in exasperation. "He still had a possible solution to your problem. That wasn't his job! I promised you I would find a way to save Elena. I was supposed to be your superhero, not this charming, polite, invincible super being. I got jealous."

Addie's lips pursed as she held her breath for several seconds before loudly letting it go in defeat. With what he did, she knew she should be furious with him but with those starling blue eyes so wide and his face so forlorn, she couldn't bring herself to be more than mildly upset. "Normal people bottle up their jealousy until it explodes in a fight. They don't plan a murder, Damon. They don't destroy the only idea we have of saving my sister."

"It's not _really_ destroyed. Addie, I will scour to the ends of the earth to find a way to save Elena. If it comes down to the wire, though, Elijah's not truly dead," Damon admitted haltingly.

"I saw his body."

"You did," Damon confirmed. He wanted to choose his words carefully. If Addie knew that his failed attempt at killing Elijah at sent him after Elena, there would be no way she was letting him off the hook like she was. "However, it turns out that he will wake back up in perfect dead health if we pull the dagger out of him. Worst case scenario, we do that and we torture the location of the potion out of him."

There were just two major flaws in Damon's plan that Addie could see. "In your book, when do we get down to the wire? What if we have to defeat the 12 trials of Hercules to get the damn potion? It's not like we can do that in an hour, right before Klaus shows up. And I know torture is your forte but you can't exactly scare him with death, since you apparently still can't actually kill him. So how are you going to get him to fess up to where it's at?"

"He can feel pain and he can be daggered and put someplace where no one can find and undagger him. Addie, you don't need to know those details. They're too dark; I don't want you thinking about them. Just know that I can get him to talk. Fast," he confessed. Damon pulled the pencil out from behind her ear and ran his fingers through her hair until it framed her face the way he like. "As for how long it will take, it can't be long. Klaus is close and Elijah would have need to have easy access."

Addie sighed and stood, motioning impatiently for Damon to do the same when he just looked at her oddly. Her arms slinked around his waist and her head fell to his chest. They both relaxed a little when Damon let out a breath it felt like he had been holding since the beginning of the conversation. "Thank you," he whispered, stroking her hair.

"It's not like that, Damon. I'm very upset. You can't even begin the trust you lost. I-no matter how you explain it, you put my life in danger, even if you thought it was only one billionth of a chance. I'm questioning how you can do that to someone you care about, no matter the situation. Damon, I'm doubting if your feelings are real. Me not turning this into a huge fight isn't for, this is for me. I've never expected you to be my super hero that comes in and saves the day. I still want, no, need you to be my super villain… who maybe comes to me before jumping to murder when he gets jealous," explained Addie.

"When does the super villain ever get the good girl?"

Addie groaned, "You seriously need to stop calling that."

"Hmm… would you prefer 'angel?'" Damon smirked, running his fingers quickly up and down her sides.

She tried to break away but between Damon and the couch she had nowhere to escape to. Through fits of giggles and gasp of breath she manage to choke out, "Stop! Mercy! Let go!"

"Let me think," he taunted. Carefully, his merciless tickling never ceasing, Damon guided Addie back onto the couch. Tickling her harder, he made his decision. "Spend the night and I will."

"School!" Addie squeaked futilely trying to shove Damon to the floor.

"I'll drive you home in the morning."

She squeal loudly when Damon attacked her weak spot, just above her left hip bone. "Ok! Ok! Just stop! Please!"

"But you're all red face and cute," Damon pretended to pout.

"Shut up," Addie scowled, successfully pushing him onto the floor that time. Both knew it was mainly from Damon moving himself but she couldn't resist looking over the edge of the cough and wagging her tongue at him.

Damon quickly scrabbled to his feet and pulled Addie to hers. With her hand locked in his, he marched purposefully towards the door.

"Where are we going?" whined Addie, digging her heals into the floor, refusing to walk and anything else she could think of to slow Damon down."

From over his shoulder Damon looked at her roguishly, "I have to brush my teeth."

"Ohhh," Addie grinned, quickly following him up the stairs. She bumped into his arm when he flung it out to halt her progress just outside his door. "Wha-" Then she heard it through the partially ajar door. The shower was running. "Who's in there, Damon?" Addie demand, her jaw and teeth clenched so tight they began to hurt.

"I don't know," he answered slowly, staring at the door.

She scoffed, "So random people just use your shower now?"

Damon tilted his head in consideration, "I don't think someone random. My guess would be a person I know. A very, very stupid person. I know so many though that I don't know who it might be."

"You seriously expect me to believe that you don't know who is using your shower? After all the lies I've uncovered today!"

"I lied about Elijah but that's all. I'm not cheating on you. _1_:It's wrong. _2_:You're too smart; I'd never get away with it. _3_:I'd be the biggest idiot in the world because there is no way in hell you would forgive me for that… a second-ish time. Of course my word has no meaning, understandably, so you're more than welcome to come find out who it is and ask them yourself," Damon shrugged and kicked the door all the way open. He walked into the room and stood by the foot of his bed.

Addie's brow furrow, clapped him on the shoulder and murmured, "From the outline I think we can safely say brunette or black hair female. Odds are not in your favor."

"I'm always with you. Don't you think you'd notice if I was sneaking around with someone else? I'm not cheating on you," Damon insisted. On quick thinking, he pulled Addie behind him. Friendly people didn't typically break in. "You know, I think you wanted my brother's shower. It's one floor."

"Well, I did," a voice answered

Damon was too shocked to react when Addie grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him into sitting on the edge of the bed. "Not her! Anyone else!" she hissed desperately, grabbing his face between her hands and forcing him to look at her watering eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Comments and reviews pretty please?**


	32. Chapter 35

"You know, I think you wanted my brother's shower. It's one floor up."

"Well, I did," a voice answered

Damon was too shocked to react when Addie grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him into sitting on the edge of the bed. "Not her! Anyone else!" she hissed desperately, grabbing his face between her hands and forcing him to look at her watering eyes.

With wide eyes and his mouth repetitively gaping and closing, Damon strangely reminded Addie of a fish. The fact that he couldn't for a simple 'no' wasn't reassuring her. The sound of the water ceased. Addie dropped his face from her hand to only to bury her's in them.

"But I thought I would receive a much more friendly welcome from you," Katherine answered brightly, stepping out of the shower and grinning at Damon in all her naked, glistening glory. "Though I didn't expect you to be babysitting," eyeing a red faced Addie. "Hey, do you have a robe?"

Damon looked back and forth between the smug vampire and his teary eyed, furious girlfriend, debating on which to handle first. Katherine looked pretty comfortable and arrogant; she was obviously here for a reason and didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave. Best to reassure his current Addie that Katherine was, indeed, his past. "Ads, I know I've done some stupid things tonight," he admitted, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his lap, "but I'd have to be brain damaged to cheat on you with the town whore."

"No need to throw names. We all know I'd be an upgrade," Katherine piped in pretentiously.

"How the hell did you get?" Demon demanded.

Simultaneously, Addie sneered, "Don't you have a permanent reservation at the tomb?"

"I did," she answered breezily before turning taunting and teasing, "but thanks to predictable Damon, I checked out. I knew that if I begged you not to kill Elijah, that's exactly what you'd do. Little known fact: Originals can compel vampires _but_ as soon as they die, the compulsion wears off."

Damon scoffed slightly and shook his head, "And you knew."

"And I'm still here. I didn't run," Katherine pointed out. "I meant what I said, Damon. I'm going to help you."

Addie cupped Damon's cheek and guided his face towards her and away from the naked vampire. He had the decency to blush slightly under her terse gaze. Damon decided to take this move from Addie as a hint of her being territorial and decided to press his luck. She was mad at him but hopefully she was more upset with Katherine and based on her scowl, he had a pretty good feeling the odds were in his favor. Feeling his ex's eyes on them, Damon brushed Addie's hair off her neck and began to softly nuzzle and kiss at it. His fingers skimmed under the clingy hem of her dress and over the thin gray leggings, slightly nudging the hem up her thigh and pulling her further onto his lap. Perhaps he was being petty but he did feel a sense of satisfaction from the pinched look he could see out of the corner of his eye.

"Mmm," Addie hummed burying a hand in his hair. "You see, I find that hard to believe. You almost got Damon killed. I might be wrong but that seems the opposite of helpful."

"We all want Klaus dead," Katherine replied tightly. "I trained you to use him. You weren't suppose to fall for him."

She moaned softly even though Damon wasn't really doing anything. "Who says I'm not still using him? You see, when you had be use him I found out just how good of a kisser he is. I wondered how good he could be at other things and, well, I don't need to tell _you_ what I discovered."

"Oddly enough," he added, "I don't mind being used for my body if someone is honest. Though we all understand how foreign of a concept that is to you. Towels are in the hall. Get out." Damon rolled Addie onto the bed with exaggerated movements, lightly tickling her side to make her giggle.

Addie felt her cheeks flare up when Damon caught her in an intense, bruising kiss. As much as she wanted to make it clear to Katherine that he was strictly off limits, she hadn't expected Damon to _actually_ make a serious move. Rather than the burning feeling of the other woman's eyes, she tried to shut out everything but sensation of his kiss — the familiar smell of Damon's aftershave, the beating of his heart beneath her fingers, the hint of cranberry under the strong alcoholic linger of the Cognac. The sound of the slamming door made her jump and caused her teeth to bump with Damon's. If it was possible, she would have blushed even harder when Damon pulled away. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

He shook his head, grinning broadly. Quickly, Damon got off the bed to turn on the sound machine, making the sound of crashing waves slightly louder than usual.

"Do I have to point out another _awful_ side effect of your stupid action?" Addie grumbled before pulling a pillow over her face. She felt the bed dip and an arm circle around her waist.

"Can we just take 30 seconds to relish in the fact that we just made Katherine jealous of both of us?" implored Damon, pulling the pillow away.

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "I think the nude goddess is just more upset that we didn't make her magical escape a bigger deal."

"Sort of," Damon grinned, kissing her cheek, "thanks to you. She goes into the tomb thinking you're begrudgingly aligned with her and comes out to find you with me, the guy who put her in there? You were her little pet project to hurt me. To find that you're making me happy? Especially when she enjoys tormenting? Her storming off after that failed seduction attempt was just glorious."

Addie's eyes narrowed at him, "I don't know if I would call it a total failure. You seemed to find Katherine pretty _captivating._"

Damon propped himself up on his elbow to look down at her, "Are you serious? I was shocked, Addie. The woman, who was suppose to be locked away, was standing in the middle of my bedroom."

"Mhm."

"I think Katherine appearing naked was just an invitation to sleep with her if I wanted to. In case you didn't notice, I was kissing you, not following her out the door and undoubtedly to another bedroom."

"You never think about sleeping with the girl you spent 145 years in love with? Not even just one more time? I have a hard time believing that," Addie shrugged, propping herself up on the pillows.

"I don't," he promised, taking her hands in his. "I don't think about her like that anymore. I don't think of anyone like that."

She rolled her eyes, "Gee, thanks. You really know how to flatter a girl."

"That's not what - we've been over this," sighed Damon heavily.

Addie nodded, "Yep and I'm ok with that because I don't find you very attractive when you lie."

"Come on," he pouted. "I thought we were having fun."

"We were. Then the beautiful bombshell side effect of your lies and actions that is your ex-girlfriend showed up. Oh, I almost forgot the best part! She's here to stay. Sorry if I'm not in the fun mood after she shows up on the prowl."

Damon went to cup her cheek but she pulled away and he frowned. "Katherine's my horrible past. Who cares if she's here? Let her do whatever the hell she wants. You know, provided we put a tracking device on her. Addie, _you_ are my girlfriend. You are the one I care about. Katherine can prowl all she wants. My only interest is you."

"Must you keep using that word?" Addie grumbled, crossing her arms and pouting slightly.

"Fine," he sighed dramatically and dropping onto his back. "If it bothers you that much, I'll stop. However, it does imply a sense of commitment."

"I thought that was already an unspoken thing," she muttered, lightly trailing along the clearly defined line of his jawbone.

Damon snapped playfully at her, only to softly kiss the tip of her finger. His lips tugged upwards at the corners when she tapped him on the nose. "Yes, I know how the idea of committing to anything aloud sends you to tears."

"It does not."

"No, I exaggerate. That would mean you would have to stick around long enough to hear what the commitment is."

Addie sat forward and looked over Damon; he was situated so far down on the bed that she felt as if she were looking at him upside down. "Excuse me for not living for eternity. I have to cram as many different experiences into my mortal life as possible. I'm ok with that making me a bit inconsistent in my ways."

"I know. I know. It's very profound and insightful to want variety rather than monotony," Damon admitted. The scent of her cucumber melon shampoo was heady as her hair fell in curtains around their face. Full and rosy pink, the slight pinch to Addie's lips made it clear that she wasn't entirely pleased with him. Hesitantly, his fingers threaded through her hair as he lifted himself so her face hovered just over his. Taking the catch in her breath as a positive sign, he kissed her upsidedown. Damon felt her hands slip under his head as his hand slipped up into her hair, winding the tresses between his fingers. Their kiss deepened, softly, slowly the intensity heating up. Addie pulled away and sat back as her neck started to get a crick. He smirked up at her through his lashes, rolling his eyes back slightly to see her, "You see? I can give you variety."

"It was hotter when Mary Jane kissed Spiderman upside down," she shrugged boredly, running her fingers through Damon's hair.

Her fingers dancing through his hair sent tingles through him. Damon rolled his eyes; of course Addie would have to be difficult. "Well, duh. First off, it was a movie. Secondly, they were kissing in the rain. That always up the attraction." He rolled onto his stomach and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her down the bed until he hovered over her slightly. "We've digressed from my point. Me-"

"Do you really mind?" she smirked, kissing his cheekbone, his jaw, and finally his mouth, a light press of lips on lips.

Damon succumbed to her kiss, knowing she was trying to distract him but too grateful that she wasn't furious with him for lying to deny her whatever she wanted. Eventually, with one last sweep of his tongue across her lower lip he broke away, ignoring her attempt to pull her attempt to pull him back in. "Katherine," he breathed out quietly.

"Wrong girl," she hissed. Addie's hand slipped from behind Damon's head to push at his chest but he refused to budge, resting his forehead against her.

His hand pulled hers from his chest and Damon interlaced their fingers before resting their hands just above where Addie's head rest on the pillow. He pulled her earlobe between his lips and teeth before his voice came out husky and seductive, "I know _exactly_ who you are, Addison."

"You said 'Katherine,'" she grumbled, trying to squirm away from his ministrations before he could pull her under his spell again.

Damon hummed in agreement, peppering her neck with kisses. "She's my point. If you want to keep her away from me, we should make it very obvious that we are in a committed relationship. If she thinks we're just fooling around, Katherine's going to believe she'll have a chance of sleeping with me. Calling you my girlfriend shows that we're exclusive."

"If-if she wants to sleep with you, a l-label isn't going to stop a woman like her from trying," Addie shivered, trying to ignore the torturous, tickling feeling of Damon nibbling lightly along her neck and collarbone.

"Won't it?" Damon challenged, abandoning Addie and rolling onto his back. He fought back the smirk that played at his lips at her quiet, frustrated whimpered. "You heard her; she didn't show up in _Stefan's_ shower because she thought she'd be more welcomed here. Stefan obviously wouldn't sleep with her because he's with Elena."

"Or it could have something to do with the fact that you're the brother that has been in love with her for over 145 years," muttered Addie, carefully eyeing Damon out of the corner of her eye for his reaction.

Damon rolled his eyes at the ceiling. He couldn't necessarily blame Addie for being jealous but she needed to come to believe that Katherine was his past. "I _was_ in love with her but Stefan is the one who mooned over her picture for that long and is dating her carbon copy."

"You were in love with Elena, too."

"I was in love with a face, the same face for 145. I wanted - no, I needed to believe that Katherine couldn't have possibly been so heartless as to let me think that she was in that tomb for no good reason. Elena," Damon exhaled loudly and dragged his hands over his face as he tried to come up with a lie that didn't sound like utter rubbish, "she was a convenient projection. She's _identical_ to Katherine. It was so easy to imagine that she embodied all the good things I wanted to believe about Katherine. I loved an idea, a fantasy but never Elena."

Addie curled up against Damon's side, wrapping a leg around his and resting her head on his chest. The cotton of his shirt was soft against her cheek and the pounding of his heart steady and reassuring. She couldn't help but notice that it seemed to be beating faster than usual. Addie slipped her hand up under his shirt and traced small circles over the cool skin over the pulsating muscle. "Call me whatever you want just stay away from the DoubleMint Twins," she muttered bitterly.

Damon laughed at the comparison. "It's cute you're jealous but you don't have to worry about that. I find the taste of cinnamon much more appealing than mint" he teased in a low voice, referring to the flavor of toothpaste he could always detect hints of when kissing her.

"And you don't have to keep lying," she retorted bitterly, too upset to even be embarrassed by his remark. His rapid pulse told her he wasn't being fully honest about never having loved Elena. "You keep racking up the lies tonight. Don't think I'm going to tolerate dishonesty, Damon. I'm not going to be in a relationship where I'm constantly questioning whether or not I can trust you so the lies stop now. Don't bother denying or defending your lies because I will walk away from this, from us, from you, this instant if you do. I'll tolerate a lot of shit and immoral behavior from you but I know better than to accept being disrespected by your lies. I expect the truth, even if you think it will hurt me. This is your one and only warning, I suppose it's my own fault for not making the consequences of lying to me again clear after you attacked Elijah, despite you swearing that you had no intention of hurting him tonight," she finished dryly.

Breathing deeply, Damon forced back the growl low in his throat. He didn't appreciate being threatened, He only lied to Addie for her own good. Elijah was bad news and if he had told her his plan, she would have tried to stop him. Admitting he had be in love with her sister would have just been an unnecessary slap in the face; he knew that first hand! It had hurt like hell when he found out just how much more Katherine had loved Stefan. Addie had already admitted that she doubted how much he cared about her since he had selfishly put her life in jeopardy when he attacked Elijah. The last thing Damon needed was her thinking he still had feelings for Elena.

So maybe his lie about never loving Elena had been slightly motivated for selfish reasons. And he had admitted that there was the distinct possibility that he had disposed of Elijah for egotistical reasons. Maybe his lying wasn't _solely_ to protect Addie. Damon's lips pressed into a thin line and his grip on her hip tightened slightly. Damn. He really didn't like it when she was right and he was wrong. She'd be right to leave him for lying; it wasn't fair to her. That didn't mean he had to tell her everything, though. He was still going to try like hell to keep her from finding out that Elijah had gone after Elena after his first failed attempt at daggering the Original. Damon's actions had put her sister in danger and that was exactly why she hadn't wanted him to make a move against Elijah. He doubted she would be as forgiving about that as she was his lying. Still…

Through gritted teeth Damon ground out, "Don't threaten me with our relationship, Addison."

Addie untangled her leg from Damon's and draped it over his other one and shifted so straddled his hips. She glared down at him as he stared up at her impassively. "Stop being a dick," she spat, making to swat at his chest.

Damon grabbed caught her by the wrist before she could make contact, not bothering to repress the growl this time. "I know I messed , I lied. You have two options: you can get the fuck over it and I can start trying to regain your trust or you can leave me. Since you're in my bed, I'm guessing you're not doing the latter because for some reason, you still want this. You won't put up with lies, fine. I'm not going to put up with hissy fits and threats."

Addie wrenched her wrist from Damon's loose grip and let out an exclamation of frustration. He raised a challenging eyebrow in disapproval. She scowled, burying both hands in his hair and kissing him hard. Caught by surprise, it took a moment for him to respond but when he did his mouth met hers with bruising pressure, their lips open, hot and hungry, and his hands gripped tightly at her waist, pulling her closer. Addie's nails scraped at his scalp and bit sharply at his lip, making Damon groan loudly, his back arching off the bed. His hand wound roughly into her hair, trying to pull her back into a kiss but she wasn't having it. Damon's shirt had ridden up slightly and he made soft noises of approval as she raked her nails over his lower abdomen.

"I repeat," she whispered against his ear, quickly biting at his neck, "stop being a dick."

Despite Damon's protest, Addie rolled off of him. He scowled in frustration as he watched her walk over to his dresser. "That wasn't nice."

One shoulder raise and lowered unconcernedly. Coolly, Addie replied, "If you play nicer, so will I."

* * *

"There is something so wrong with the fact that my aunt allows her nieces to sleep over at their boyfriends' house on school nights," Addie mumbled as she sat in the Salvatore living room flipping through study cards for her Latin exam.

Damon snorted and eyed Addie over one of the many Gilbert journals Stefan and Elena had brought back from the lake house. He expected her to at least look up at him but her attention remained focused on the stack of index cards, just as her attention had been the previous night and that morning. She hadn't even commented on fanged smiley face of strawberries and whipped cream on her pancake that she typically fed to Damon. Instead, Addie had just set the fruit aside and ate. Damon closed the book around his finger and frowned in thought. The tension between with Addie had been almost tangible since the incident with Elijah. He tried giving her space to cool off but that only seemed to make her suspicious of him. Apologizing wasn't the solution if the way she snapped at him the third time he did so was any indication.

"Because said boyfriends wouldn't just sneak into said nieces' bedrooms anyway?"

"It's one thing to know their sleeping together and another thing to encourage it. Hell, it still bothers me when she tries to get me to discuss you but in that case she's been brainwashed," Addie mumbled sarcastically, splitting the note cards into two piles on the coffee table. "Of course she is our 25 year-old aunt who is also cool with my brother having overnight guest. Seriously, we are raising ourselves…. I don't get why the hell Elena insist I spend the night here if she does, though. Just because we are sisters dating brothers does not mean we have to do the same things."

Again, Damon snorted, "I can assure you that _we_ are not doing the same things as Stefan and Elena."

Addie's eyes flashed to Damon, feeling his on her. Her lips twitched slightly as he looked torn between amusement and disgust. "Please tell me you are talking about in general and not right at this moment. I have a Latin test that I would rather not miss."

"I'm talking about in general. They were loud enough last night to permanently scar me. I would rather not listen in on them and possibly traumatize myself even more."

"They really are obnoxious. Between your hearing and me having a room next to Elena there is no such thing as a safe place. I propose we take here and they can have my house so no further scarring occurs," she suggested, focusing on the smaller pile of index cards.

Damon had to disagree, "They should get here as long as we have an unwanted houseguest."

Anger briefly flickered in Addie's eyes and Damon knew it was because she was still upset with him for inadvertently freeing the woman who was proving to be a real strain on their relationship. "It's been days. Why hasn't Katherine made her presence known to them? What is she up to?"

"Hell if I know."

Addie's face soured as she finally focused on the vampire sitting on the couch across from her. "You must know something. She's been attached to you like a leech."

"You mean like a blood sucking parasite?" he smirked. "She _is_ a vampire. That does marginally make sense."

"No, nothing make sense about her hiding from Stefan and Elena and trying to weasel her way into your pants," scowled Addie, furiously flipping through the cards, not taking in any of the information.

Exhaling sharply, Damon rolled his eyes. He was getting almost as sick of the Katherine fight as he was of her. Being locked in the house with his ex, watching her every move was surprisingly exhausting. Addie had been with him every free second since Katherine had shown up and the vampire took every opportunity to cut her down, mock their relationship, hit on him, and interrupt any moment when the tension started to ease. "She's doing that because she mad that I'm interested in her little pet project as opposed to her. Not that I see you like that," Damon added quickly upon the dark look Addie gave him from beneath her lashes. "Katherine wants the world to revolve around Katherine. My world no longer does and she doesn't like that. She wants me whipped to her. Plus, my guess is that she's mad at you for being with me rather than just using me like she wanted and sleeping with me would be the most effective way to hurt you."

"Yeah, you _totally_ don't know what she's up to."

"I don't know why she hasn't revealed herself to Stefan and Elena," Damon insisted defensively.

Addie stacked all her cards back together, giving up on studying. With Katherine on her mind it was a futile effort. "Why haven't _we_ said anything?"

"Because they'll be pissed? I already have you pissed off at me; I don't need to add more people to the list."

"I'm not pissed at you," she said stiffly. "And since when do you care if people are mad at you? Don't you typically enjoy making people mad."

"You're _something_ with me."

"I'm ambivalent towards you. I'm upset with myself for actually having expectations of you. I can't even count the times we both said I would be stupid to trust you."

"What did Damon do now?" Katherine asked as she walked into the room wrapping one of Elena's scarves around her neck.

The vampire in question scowled at her, tossing the journal onto the coffee table, "Why do you always assume I've done something, Elena?"

"Because it's you, Damon."

Addie rolled her eyes and looked at Damon skeptically, "You seriously can't tell? I almost wish I had an evil doppelganger just to see how long it would take you to figure out when she was impersonating me."

In a fraction of a second Damon had Katherine slammed against the wall, his hands wrapped around her throat. Furiously he spat, "What do you think you're doing?"

"What the hell is going on?" Stefan demanded, having rushed into the room at the sound of something hitting the wall. Quickly assessing the situation he pulled Damon off of Katherine, thinking she was Elena.

"I don't know, you tell me. Damon these two think I'm Katherine! Isn't Katherine in the tomb?"

"You-" Addie started but stopped and shook her head in disbelief when Stefan flashed out of the room. "You boys really are stupid. I must say, if I was Elena _or_ Katherine, I'd be pissed at Stefan for not being able to tell who I was. I mean he's slept with both of them; shouldn't it be obvious."

Katherine's eyes narrowed at the girl, "I'm a wonderful actress. I just don't get how you can tell the difference when I can fool everyone else."

Addie shrugged and smirked, "Well I'm obviously not going to tell you. How else would I have any advantage over you?"

"I'm liking your sister better and better," Katherine decided, leaving the room.

Sighing, Damon stood up to follow, "I have a feeling you're going to miss that test."

Quickly, Addie caught up with him halfway up the stairs and slipped her hand into his. Even if things were rocky with Damon, Katherine had a tendency to bring out her possessive side. She was baffled when Damon stopped walking. Her breath caught when the fingertips of his free hand pressed at her belly button ring until she back into the wall. The wicked grin at his lip and sparkle in his eyes sent her heart swooping through her chest. Their faces were only inches away from each other. She felt his breath against her lips before he kissed her, and she leaned into it, her eyes closing. His mouth was soft, his lips brushing hers gently, sending shivers all through her. She raised her arms to wind them around his neck, to slide her fingers under his dark hair, to lightly touch the bare skin at the nape of his neck. Eventually, reluctantly, he pulled away, leaving her breathless.

"Good morning," he whispered huskily, resting his forehead against hers.

Addie's hand slipped beneath the collar of his shirt ran over the sinewy muscles of his upper back and shoulders. Her eyes focused on his lips, slightly red from the kiss. "Not fair," she murmured. "You don't get to kiss me like that."

"Why not?" Damon asked softly, brushing his thumb over her cheekbone. "Because it makes you forget why you're mad at me? What else am I supposed to do? You won't talk to me. You won't listen to my apologies. You're distant. It _hurts_ sleeping next to you and not being able to hold you. I miss my Ads."

"I'm right here. Pretty much the only time we're apart is when I have school and track," she muttered.

"No, you're not. You're a million miles away. You don't want me lying so you can't either. Don't say you're not upset with me. I know you; I know you're upset. I hurt you and I'm sorry. Addie, I am so sorry."

The pain clear in his voice made her flinch. Even though she mad at him and it was his own fault, Addie still hated seeing Damon hurt. Her hand came to rest on face, the skin beneath smooth. He hadn't shaved for days but that morning he must have found the motivation or energy. It would be a lie if she said she hadn't noticed the depressed funk he had been in since their fight. She nodded, "I know you are. And I know you would take back the lies and attacking Elijah at the dinner party if you could. You still would have killed him, though. And you still lied to me, Damon. I'm just really confused. I'm not surprised you lied because you've done so much worse. Yet, I still trusted you. How could I expect lies but still trust you?"

He shook his head, "You didn't expect lies. It's ok to admit that you had expectations of me. To not put you or your family in danger isn't much to ask of someone who cares about you. I was selfish and I screwed up. You did trust me and I ruined that. You trusted me not to be a danger. It took us a long time to get there. It's stupid of me to think that things could go back to the way they were."

"Very stupid," Addie agreed with a slight smile, "but I want to get back to that. It's weird but in all this craziness with vampires and werewolves and the supernatural I felt happier and safer with you. I want to be back there but you gotta give me time to rebuild my trust in you."

Damon nodded slowly, gently kissing her forehead, "Of course, as much time as you need." Addie instantly missed the contact of his firm, strong body pressed against her when when he backed away and pulled at her hand for her to follow. "We should get up there Stefan accidentally kills Elena thinking she's Katherine.

"What the hell is going on?" the Petrova doppelganger in the green long sleeve shirt demanded when Addie and Damon entered Stefan's bedroom.

"The usual," Addie shrugged simply. "Damon didn't think about the full consequences of his actions before acting. The town has another crazy vampire running around. And it seems I'm missing school _again_ which is kind of really bad since I have a test in like twenty minutes."

Stefan stopped pacing for a moment to turn and give Damon a crossed look, "You want to try translating that?"

Rolling her eyes, Addie muttered to herself, "I don't see why people can't follow along. It's not that complicated."

"It's because you're surrounded by idiots," Katherine whispered back, studying her reflection in the full length mirror.

She considered this and found she didn't fully disagree with the vampire. Continuing to speak in tones that didn't interrupt the conversation of the room's other occupants, Addie asked humorlessly, "If magic is real does that mean the land of Oz is too and I can take them all to go get brains from the wizard?"

The female vampire smiled slightly as her brown eyes connected with Addie's blue ones through the mirror. "This is the real world, not Candy Land with dancing and singing munchkins, There might be a spell or something to increase their brain powers though."

"Are you _certain_ Oz isn't real? I'm not entirely convinced you're not the Wicked Vamp of West."

Elena's loud pouting interrupted their conversation as she pointed accusingly at Katherine, "I don't want you here." Addie couldn't help but snort at the commanding voice her sister took with Stefan, as if he could actually do anything about Katherine. "Get her out of here!"

Katherine rolled her eyes in exasperation; the girl could be so dramatic. "You need me, Elena. You all do."

"Like hell," Stefan snapped.

"Do you get that you need me or do you need a visit to the wizard like the rest of them?" Katherine asked Addie, sensing she may be the only rational one about this. She had seen the benefits of working with Katherine before.

"Leave her alone!" Damon and Elena barked simultaneously.

Addie's eyes narrowed, flickering from her sister to Damon, "Both of you shut up. I can handle myself. What can you offer, Katherine?"

"We all want the same thing: Klaus dead," she replied as if it was as obvious as the sky was blue. "Yet here you all are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Do-"

"I don't need your help and I don't want it," Elena interrupted, stomping her foot for emphasis.

"Shut up!" Addie exclaimed at her sister again. "Katherine, arguably the most manipulative but possibly most conniving bitch in history, is offering to help you. You don't turn that down."

Damon scoffed in disbelief, "Do you hear how insane you sound? Manipulative? Conniving? You think it's wise to work with someone like that? Shall I remind you that she almost got me killed just to free her own ass from the tomb?"

"That's kind of my point! Katherine knows Klaus. You can't hide from someone for 500 years without learning about their ways and habits. What the hell do we know? _Nothing_. We don't even know what the hell he looks like! And you decided to dagger to only person with a plan on how to kill him!"

"For fucks sake, get over that!" Damon growled. He grabbed Addie by the shoulders and tried to get her to look at him but she refused. "The only damn thing you know about Elijah's _plan_ was that it involved killing you sister. That's not a-"

"I'm going to school," Elena said loudly, almost yelling over Damon. "Are you coming, Addie, or are you just too involved in your little lovers' dispute?"

Glaring daggers at Damon, Addie pushed his hands off her. "I'm coming. I prefer a Latin exam over damn vampires any day."

* * *

"Hey," Elena called after her sister, who had scrambled out of Stefan's car as if it was on fire as soon as he put it into to park and started heading into school.

Addie's eyes squeezed shut as she stopped and tried not to blow up at her sister. If Elena was a damn doppelganger and had never gotten involved with Stefan, there wouldn't be this mess with Klaus. "What?"

"How long have you known Katherine's been free? Why is she still here?" demand Elena as she and Stefan caught up with her.

Uncomfortably recalling Katherine's arrival, Addie shifted the weight of her backpack slung over one shoulder like always. "She showed up the night Elijah was daggered. My guess is that she's here for the exact reason that she says: she wants Klaus dead. Katherine hasn't been able to do it on her own so maybe she sees using you guys as her only chance as I am not getting involved in this."

"Or maybe she's trying to lure Stefan and Damon back into her web. I want her gone."

Addie continued to walk, not interested in carrying on the conversation but Stefan did indulge Elena. "So do I but you're right, she stayed. Shouldn't we at least try and figure out why? No offense, Addie, but I don't think it's just to kill Klaus."

"To be offended I would have to care; I don't," she mumbled.

"How are we supposed to figure out what she wants? All she does is lie," said Elena with great distaste.

Stefan sighed, "Look, I hate her being around as much as you do but Addie made a strong point. We don't know anything about Klaus; Katherine does."

"Aww. Thanks, Stefan," gushed Addie, faking being flattered, "but I still don't care about any of this."

"Right," Elena agreed, ignoring her annoying little sister, "but that doesn't mean I want her shacking up with you."

Addie, who was slightly ahead of Elena and Stefan turned around and began walking backwards. "Ohhh, I wouldn't worry about that," she said in a taunting voice that suggested she knew something Elena didn't.

"Why not?"

"Well, you have a boyfriend you can trust and the consensus is that Katherine isn't particularly interested in bedding Stefan right now," she answered dismissively.

A crease formed in Elena's forehead as she tried to understand. "Since when? And according to who? And what do you mean?"

"Is it really that difficult to follow my train of thought?" Addie mused aloud before answering. "According to Katherine, who showed up naked in Damon's bedroom, convinced he would give her a more _welcoming_ hello than Stefan."

Elena's mouth fell open as she looked at her sister incredulously. She knew Katherine had nerve but…. "There's no way she did that."

"Oh, she did. We got up to Damon's room and the showering is running. I mean, you couldn't tell who it was from the frosted glass door but it was obviously a girl. Given Damon is, well, Damon, it was obviously someone from his past. Still, he suggests to the person that they wanted Stefan's shower and that skank says she did, steps out the shower, and continues on about Damon being more likely to be happy to see her. Then Katherine and Damon just carry on a conversation with her standing there naked like it's no big deal. Which, hey, why would it be? It's not like it's anything he hasn't seen before. Anyways, she was _not_ happy about Damon and me being together. Since then she keeps making passes at him, And, it is, of course, Damon, meaning it's only a matter of time before he gives in," Addie concluded slightly hysteric, trying the combination to her locker for the third time.

"That bitch," muttered Elena in disbelief, leaning back against the locker next to Addie's.

"Damon wouldn't sleep with Katherine, Addie. He's not… ok, he might be that stupid _but_ he would never hurt you like that," Stefan tried reassuring her.

Addie scoffed, shoving her backpack away after pulling out the spirals she needed, "It's Damon, Stefan. He's been full of lies lately. I'm not putting anything past him. That being said, I have to bail on girl's night, Elena."

"Wait, what? Why? You can't! Bonnie's totally freaked about losing her powers and Caroline's having Matt drama. I can't deal with both of them on my own."

"Yeah, well, I'm having Damon drama and will just be a distracted stress case if I'm there," she mumbled back, slamming her locker shut. "I'll tell you what; how about I send Katherine over to help?"

Elena made a gagging sound, "Not even funny. It's not right for you to bail so you can babysit Damon. You shouldn't be with him if you can't trust him. I mean, no offense, Stefan. I get that he's your brother and all but it's not right or healthy for Addie if she can't trust him and with his reputation, she has good reason not to."

"No, I get it," Stefan nodded but Addie caught his eye and she saw that he was just agreeing with her in order to not start a fight. The spineless jellyfish. She'd never get why so many people were afraid of standing up to her sister.

"If it was anyone but Katherine-" _or you_, she added mentally, "I would trust Damon. However, I reiterate from this morning: she is conniving and manipulative. And Damon... he's _Damon_! Do I need a better defense than that?" Dramatically, Addie stormed off towards her Latin class. She didn't think Damon would want her sharing with Elena and Stefan just how sensitive he was. Addie was certain a part of him still cared for Katherine. It was the only explanation as to why he hated her so much and yet he hadn't killed her.

* * *

The metal clicked out of place as Addie turned the shiny new key Damon had given her in the old lock. Soundlessly she opened the door, closing and relocking it behind her. In the living room she found Damon digging through a box of what looked like of the old Johnathan Gilbert journals. Addie dropped her bookbag near the sofa, waiting for him to acknowledge her like he usually did. It was odd that he hadn't greeted her at the door, opening before she could even finish unlocking it. When he didn't respond after almost a full minute she went over and wrapped her arms his waist from behind.

Feeling arms encircle him, hands coming to rest just above the waistband of his jeans Damon tensed. That was it, He'd had more than enough of Katherine for one day. First she pulled the little stint with pretending to be Elena, then she admitted to knowing he would die if he used the dagger but she didn't care, all she wanted was her precious freedom, and now she was touching him, _again. _He'd lost track of the number of time times he had told her to keep her hands off him, reminded her that he was with Addie. Then he felt her head rest against his back. That didn't add up; Katherine would have been too tall for that. And the body against him was giving off far too much heat to be a vampire. His eyes drifted shut and he exhaled slowly, relaxing slightly. Her name fell like salvation from his lips. "Addie. I didn't hear you come in."

"I could tell," she said gently, ducking under his arm and hugging him from the side. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered quickly, kissing her temple. "How was your test?"

"I forgot some vocabulary words but pretty much remembered everything else. I probably got an A. Again, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong,"he maintained. "I was just focused on looking for a journal with any information on that place Elijah was looking for."

Addie began to pull away, her voice tight, "Whatever, Damon."

Quickly, he dropped the leather bound book he was holding and kept her close, one arm around her shoulders, the other hand at the small of her back. Her hair, still damp from showering after practice smelled of cucumber melon as he dropped his head to whisper in her ear, "Katherine's just gotten under my skin. I didn't want to bother you with something that is nothing more than me just still hoping there is a shred of decency in her."

"Do I hear my name?" Addie was quickly beginning to consider her voice the most annoying sound. "What are we up? Besides you two being nauseating. "

"None of your business," Damon growled, turning back to the journals. He made sure Addie was between him and the table, still inside the protection of his arms, safe from Katherine. His lips twitched as hers tickled at his collarbone, holding herself flush against him. There was only one good thing about his ex being around: Addie became very possessively affectionate in front of her. Which was the only affection he was getting, considering she still was upset with him.

Damon saw Katherine's lips purse as she came to stand next to him, glaring briefly at Addie. "Are those the Gilbert journals?" He ignored her, quickly browsing through one of the many volumes. She huffed, not liking Damon being so chilly towards her, "How am I supposed to help you if you won't tell me what you're up to?"

Addie stopped nuzzling Damon's neck, making him frown, and gave Katherine a challenging look. "Can you blame him for not wanting your help when you prove to be so _provoking?_ However, I have Elena for a sister so you _really_ don't prove to be that irritating to me. I'm willing to play nice… for now. Can you tell us where a bunch of witches were massacred in this town a couple of centuries ago?"

"Glad you realize I'm the lesser of two evils when it comes to Elena and me," Katherine smirked.

"I didn't say that. It's kind of a toss up. Elena is in love with my boyfriend and tries to convince me to break up with him which annoys me while you try to seduce my boyfriend which is a nuisance to both of us. The question, Katherine."

The vampire smirked, resting a hand on Damon's bicep and squeezing, "I don't hear Damon complaining."

Damon grabbed Katherine's wrist between two fingers like a disgusting, used tissue and flicked her hand off him. "That's because I'm too busy reminding myself that for some, unexplainable reason my girlfriend doesn't want me to kill you. I spend the majority of my time in your presence resisting that urge," he sneered at her.

"And I'm so thankful that you respect me enough to put up with her," Addie grinned at Damon. She put her hand against his chest; his heart always seemingly racing, beat like trapped wings. She pushed herself up on her toes to brush her lips against the corner of his mouth. Or at least she meant it as a brush, a butterfly touch of lips on lips, but he leaned down toward her, and his movement changed the angle swiftly; she pressed up against him harder than she'd meant to, her lips sliding to center against his. She breathed out in surprise against his mouth as his arm wrapped around her waist. Then they were kissing, really kissing, exquisitely slow and hot and intense. Addie could sense Katherine glaring at her but rather than feel embarrassed, as she expected, she felt emboldened to make it clear that Damon was off limits to her. She let her hands go freely, over the swell of his arms, down to his chest, tracing the ridges of muscle, pressing outward to grip his sides until his T-shirt. Damon moved his body against hers, gently pressing her against the table. She could hear the harsh undertone of his breathing.

"Do you want to know about the massacre sight or not," Katherine snarled bitterly.

Damon slowly parted from Addie, giving her a soft, final kiss. He could feel the heat in her cheeks as she buried her face against the crook of his neck. An expectant eyebrow raised as he considered Katherine, who looked like she had sucked on a lemon. "What do you know?"

"I don't know where it's at but Emily Bennett told me about the massacre. It was a big deal in witch folklore. When a witch dies violently, they release a mystical energy marking the place of their death with the power."

"Elijah wanted to know the site of the massacre," Damon admitted, reflecting on this new information.

Katherine eyed him skeptically, "What was he going to do when he found it?"

He shook his head, "I don't know."

All heads snapped to the sound of Stefan entering. Addie blush slightly as Stefan caught Damon holding her. His arms tightened slightly around her as Damon felt Addie begin to pull away but she did anyways. It was one thing to rub their relationship in Katherine's face and try to deter her from hitting on Damon but she still wasn't comfortable with general public displays of affection around their friends and family.

Damon hid his frown by turning back to sort through the old journals. Knowing Stefan had met with the Martins in an attempt to form an alliance he asked, "What did papa witch and baby witch have to say?"

Leaning against the entrance to the living room Stefan eyed Katherine with distaste. "Why isn't she gone or dead yet?"

"Your girlfriend insisted we not kill Tyler Lockwood, the traitor werewolf who tried to kill her. Mine wants to keep alive our psychotic ex-girlfriend because she's convinced she can help. Clearly we should just date girls who are ok with us killing obvious threats to their lives. Or, you know, they have some crazy death wish. Who can say? I have tangible proof Gilbert's are crazy," Damon shrugged, not looking up from the journals but still holding up one up.

"You're an idiot," Addie grumbled from the couch, chucking an accent pillow at Damon, which he easily caught, not even breaking his focus on sorting through the old writings.

Katherine rolled her eyes, "For the last time, I'm here to help. Can we skip the secrets, hmm?"

Stefan exchanged a look with Damon, who shrugged and shook his head helplessly. Katherine wouldn't leave easily if she didn't want to. Besides, Addie was convinced she could help and Damon didn't exactly feel any fight involving Katherine was a wise one to pick, especially considering the tenuous position their relationship was in. Plus, it seemed he only got to kiss Addie was when something involving his ex was going on.

"Elijah had no weapon to kill Klaus but he believed that if a witch could channel enough power they wouldn't need one."

"Like the power you get from where a hundred witched left a mystical energy?" Addie suggested. "See? Katherine is proving useful. We wouldn't have known the spot Elijah was look for was full of witch mojo."

"The Martins-" Stefan began to counter.

"Should not be trusted. Damon decided to go and dagger their bestest buddy. I'd be pretty pissed and concerned about being double crossed by you lot if I were them. So really you guys are pretty much screwed because _A:_ you don't know where the site is and _B_: even with the power of a bunch of dead witches helping - and we're assuming that this mystical energy is real based on witch _folklore_ \- I doubt Bonnie will be able to take down the oldest vampire in the history of forever," Addie laughed, careful not to expressly state to Damon or Katherine that Bonnie had lost her powers. It wasn't that she didn't trust Damon but he had already almost killed her once and they weren't exactly friends. Addie knew Bonnie wouldn't want him to know and telling him would amount to some level of betrayal of her best friend. Neglecting to provide all information wasn't exactly lying to Damon. "You guys have fun with all that crazy. I'm gonna go be normal and learn how a cell divides because mitosis makes so much more sense than all of this," she added sarcastically, grabbing her backpack and heading up to Damon's room.

* * *

Damon laid stretched out on the couch, one arm wrapped around Addie as she curled up next to him. Again, her cellphone vibrated on his chest. It was very distracting trying to read with her firing off texts every few minutes. She wouldn't cuddle with him at night so he'd put up with the texting if it was the only way he was going to get to lay so close to her. It was vaguely annoying that the only reason she chose to relax with him was because Katherine sat ten feet away. He sighed, flipping a page, "Who keeps texting you?"

"Jealous?"

"Should I be?"

"Nope," she reassured him, looking up at him with wide, expectant eyes. Damon bowed his head to quickly kiss her, his attention more interested in a possible lead to the massacre site. "It's just Elena."

Now _that_ got his attention. "Why? Since when are you two texting buddies."

Addie rolled her eyes and finished her text, setting her phone back on Damon before answering, "We're not. She's mad at me for bailing on girl's night."

"Well, why'd you do that?"

"Seriously? Didn't we end up together last girl's night?" she reminded him.

Damon nodded slowly, "Yeahhhh. You're not very good at girl's night."

"No, I'm not. And I would have been really bad this time. Last time I was blackmailed into being nice and putting up with Caroline's crap; you know, werewolf torture and all. Tonight, she has no excuse for being annoying and, according to Elena, a thirty minute rant about her problems with Matt. There's no way I could have sat through that without going off on her because she is _so _not being fair to him; he's going to get dragged into this mess. Then Jenna joined complaining about Ric and his secret keeping and I would have totally told her to end things with him because, again, she's going to get dragged into this mess. Then -"

"Addie, this is _not_ girl's night. Do you really think I care?" muttered Damon, annoyed at having read the same sentence five times.

Her fingers slipped under his shirt. Addie smirked as she felt him tense when she lightly scraped her nail from his belly button down to the top of his pants, slightly pushing them down. She shifted up the couch until she could whisper in his ear, "No but I'm bored and you're more interested in a book."

The journal was quickly discarded onto the coffee table, face down and still open. Neither of them noticed Katherine switch it with the book she was reading.

"My apologies," Damon murmured against her lips, his thumb running over the bare skin between her jeans and shirt, "I didn't realize. That was very inconsiderate of me."

Addie nodded, slipping her hand up under his shirt. "Upstairs?" she asked hesitantly, barely audible.

He bit back a groan at the bright red that flooded her face and the way she bit at her lip. She looked so innocent and… damn, he missed her. He could resist. Her mouth was hot and tasted of chocolate. Her skin was so warm as he ran his hand up her neck to cup the side of her face. His shirt balled in her hand and he detected the slightest hint of a whimper as he bit at her lip. God, he wanted to hear her. He nipped harder but she immediately began to pull away, pushing at his chest.

"Upstairs," Addie repeated, no room for questioning. He nodded, trying to sit up with some control rather than scrambling like the horny teenager he felt like,

"Here's something interesting, you know, if you two can keep it in you pants for two minutes," said Katherine, briefly glancing at the couple from over the journal.

Damon growled slightly, running his hand over his face. He was gonna kill her. Addie was _very_ mistaken; Katherine was not out to be helpful. The smart thing to do would be to kill her now. Addie would get over it. Damon glanced at her from the corner of his eye with the pillow she had been using pressed over her face. Yeah, she'd definitely get over it. Probably. Maybe. Or she wouldn't and they would still be in this awkward fighting without actually fighting phase and he wouldn't even have the pretense of fending Katherine off to kiss her. Then he would have pointlessly killed her and Addie would be mad. Nope, he still had a long list of valid reasons to kill Katherine. The question was whether or not the repercussions were worth it. Either way, she had clearly just ruined his chance to get upstairs. "What?"

"I can't tell when it was written but, 'Emily Bennett was taken by the Council today. They kidnapped her from her home and took her to the same location her ancestor were burned a hundred years ago.' So Emily died on the site of the massacre, too," Katherine read.

That was utterly useless inform. She had interrupted them on purpose. Damon's eyes narrowed dangerously at her, "I read that." He reached over and snatched the journal from her. " It doesn't say _where_, making it completely useless and not interesting in the least! You know this whole friendly, cooperative thing?"

"Mh-hmm," she hummed, smiling sweetly at him.

"I don't buy it."

Katherine scoffed, "I have no reason to lie to you, Damon."

"Lie," he accused, leaning his head back against the couch.

"I'm hungry."

"You're the unwanted houseguest. Go feed yourself."

Addie waited until she couldn't hear Katherine's footsteps anymore before removing the pillow from her face. "I'm gonna kill her."

Damon raised an eyebrow and gave her a small smile, "I was thinking the same thing."

"Difference is I'm being dramatic and you're being serious," she mumbled, curling up into his side as he began to peruse through the journal again. "You can't kill her, Damon."

"Pretty sure I can."

She exhaled sharply, rested her head on his shoulder and draped an arm across his chest, resting her hand on the other shoulder. "She may have ulterior motives but we all want Klaus dead. She has advantages we can use. You can't kill her yet."

"But she just totally did that on purpose!" he pouted.

"Probably a good thing."

Damon cocked his head to look at her quizzically, "I don't follow."

"It would have just made things _complicated_."

"Things are already complicated, Addie! You're mad, or not mad, or whatever the hell you want to call it one minute but then Katherine shows up and you're practically marking your territory. Then, I think I had a minor stroke when you called me your boyfriend this afternoon, which is like the forbidden word in your universe. I don't exactly see how it can get much worse," he scoffed humorlessly, running a hand through his hair.

"This is kind of a mess," she admitted, making to scoot away from him.

"And you're literally pulling away again," Damon laughed. "That's just making things worse, Ads. I get that everything's a mess between us but at least stop physically confusing me. Either keep your distance until you figure out what you want or be with me. I can't do this swinging from when extreme when Katherine is around and when she's not."

Confused herself, Addie watched him focus intently on the journal for a minute. She licked her lips uncertainly before starting, "I don't like - Katherine and Stefan can both overhear."

Damon glanced at her and shook his head in frustration. "We shouldn't even have to discuss this."

Addie's lips pursed. She didn't _need_ to discuss the mess that was their relationship. There was no question about what she wanted. It would be simpler to just not talk about it but taking the easy way out didn't seem right or fair to either of them. Nervously, she asked, "Can we though?"

"Not now," he muttered, placing a finger over his lips and point to the journal, "latter though."

"I'm just going to choose to believe that you're upset rather than think that you are actually stupid enough to pick a _book_ over our relationship," Addie mumbled, shaking her head in frustration.

Damon caught her eye and waved the journal, clearly mouthing the word, "Book."

"Jerkface idiot," Addie mumbled, grabbing one of the journals from the table behind the couch and lightly hitting Damon in the back of the head with it. She was going to find out what was so much more interesting than her and their relationship.

Before Addie could open the journal, Stefan entered with a stacked. He sighed in frustration, dropping the old writings onto the 'checked' end of the table, "Well, nothing in any of these. Find anything."

"Nope," Damon said casually, though he nodded and handed the book to Stefan, pointing at something.

While Addie could understand while Damon and Stefan weren't willing to trust Katherine, she couldn't help but think they were making the wrong choice by keeping secrets from her. Killing Klaus was just as important to her as it was to them; she had spent 500 years on the run from him. Of course they shouldn't trust her fully but they should at least pretend to a mutual truce to gain the information that she knew. Business wasn't a place for personal feelings and grudges.

Stefan passed the journal back to Damon, grinning, "That's too bad."

"Yeah, bummer."

How could he be such a good liar but a terrible actor?

A quavering, shrill voice floated up from the basement, "Damon!"

Detecting sounds of a commotion, he reluctantly headed towards where he was summoned. Passing by Stefan, he shoved the only useful journal he'd found into his brother's hands and whispered for him to hide it. Addie watch as they both disappeared, Damon towards the cellar and Stefan towards the library. She turned open the journal to a random entry and began to read; it was about the two Gilbert rings Emily Bennett had spelled for Jonathan Gilbert and his brother Jeremiah. It was dated before the fire that was supposed to kill the vampires, So Jonathan was ok working with witches but not vampires? Seemed a bit hypocritical in her opinion. Then again witches weren't dead cannibals. But there were some good vampires, just like there were bad witches…, When had all this supernatural stuff became gray and murky as opposed to black and white? Hearing the front door slam shut, Addie looked up but no one was there. Someone must have left. Then Katherine came staggering into the living room and laid down on the couch opposite of her.

"You look like hell," Addie noted, taking in Katherine's disarrayed hair and torn, bloodstained shirt. "Damon finally lose the little patience he has with you?"

Katherine sneered at her but her weak and disheveled looked greatly diminished its effect, "No. Some invisible thing was trying to pull the stake out of Elijah and then it attacked me."

"Ghost! Now we have ghost to worry about, too!" Addie giggled hysterically. "This is just wonderful. How the hell do you fight a fucking ghost?!"

"It wasn't a ghost. A flame thrower likely wouldn't have worked on a ghost since it has not corporeal body and all. I'm guessing witchy astral projection," Damon surmised, reentering the room. "Stefan went to go handle it." Giving Addie a small smile and squeezing at her shoulder he promised, "You don't have to worry about ghost. They aren't real. That would be ridiculous." Walking right up in front of Katherine, Damon passed her a blood bag, "Here you go!" Catching her off guard, he was able to drive a stake he'd been hiding under his shirt into her stomach.

"Damon!" Addie cried out in shock, leaping to her feet.

He ignored her, watching Katherine double up around the wood and trying to pull it out. Glaring at him she snapped, "What the hell?!"

Damon leaned in close to her as if he was whispering a secret. "That's for not telling me the dagger would kill me. Next time," he warned, pulling back, "it goes in your heart."

"Is that how you treat someone who is trying to help you?" Katherine growled back, finally able to yank the stake out.

"You want to help? Start talking," he growled, crossing his arms in front of him.

"I'd love to but you're not going to like it."

"Try me."

"Fine," smirked Katherine, standing toe to toe with Damon. "John Gilbert and Isobel want you and Stefan out of Elena's life. Recently, John's tacked on a desire to get you out of Addie's life, too."

He rolled his eyes, anger dancing in them. Boredly, he replied, "That's old news."

Addie was eerily reminded of Elena with the way Katherine jutted out one hip with her hand on it and sassed, "Not the part where he offered me a deal. He knew that killing Elijah would get me out of the tomb, so he gave me a choice: either I stay and help with Klaus or he kills Stefan."

"But he still tried to have me killed," Damon pointed outed, his eyebrows knitting together as he frowned.

Katherine nodded, "Right. That was part of the deal. I could only save one of you."

"So you chose Stefan," Damon concluded. Scornfully he scoffed and shook his head, "Of course you did."

There was a certain rigidness to Damon as he left the room and went towards the study that left Addie uncertain of whether or not she should follow him. Instead she decided to focus on Katherine; she was the more predictable target at the moment. Addie glowered at her, "Did you _really_ have to throw that last bit in his face?"

"He wanted the truth," Katherine shrugged innocently. "Would you rather I lie?"

"You lie all the time! What would one more have been?" Addie hissed.

The vampire eyed the girl as she sat back down, opened the blood bag and took a long sip from it. "That's funny. You're all pissy and mad at him for lying to you and yet you want me to lie to him."

"You're not dating him. You should be honest with him because it's the right thing to do but you have no obligation not to lie to him and should do it when it spares his feelings! You're a wrecker. You broke him. You tried to get me to do the same. You've put him through enough, Katherine. Find a new boy to play with."

"It's cute, you know, you - this," Katherine smirked waving her hand at Addie, "trying to stand up for him when he's perfectly capable of doing it himself."

Addie scoffed, "No, no he isn't. Not against you. He still wants to believe that somewhere deep down you're not the cold, heartless bitch you present yourself as. And you'd take advantage of that. You'd manipulate him into seeing you as the girl he fell in love with 145 years ago. You know his weaknesses and you don't play fair. He can't stand up to you."

Pretending to consider this, Katherine continued to sip on the blood bag until it was empty. "You know, you're right. Damon can't stand up to me. Who's to say I haven't already _manipulated_ him? You don't think I know why you're always latched onto him? Especially when it's obvious that you two are fighting? You haven't been around _all_ the time, Addie."

"Damon wouldn't sleep with you," Addie stated firmly, more to reassure herself.

"Really?" Katherine asked in mock confusion. "Because I'm pretty sure he has. Over and over and over and well, you get the idea."

Addie shot daggers at Katherine, want to slap her but knowing that was a fight she wouldn't have a chance in. Relief swelled in her when she saw Damon reappear but it quickly turned sour when she noticed he had donned a jacket and was headed towards the door. "Where are you going? You're leaving me here with _her_?"

"Yeah," he exhaled, turning slightly to look at her. "Luka Martin's dead. His father's going after Elena. I trust you two," Damon continued with narrowed eyes, his finger swinging back and forth between the two girls, "can survive a few hours without killing each other?"

"I'm coming with you," both objected.

"No, neither of you are. Katherine, I don't need your help. I don't want it. Frankly, I don't want you here. Addie," Damon faltered, repeating her name, "there's no good choice on what to do with you. You go, you can get hurt. I leave you alone with her, you can get hurt. I'm placing my bets on the pissed off warlock being more murderous at the moment, though."

Katherine rushed in front of Damon as he turned back to the door and placed a hand on his chest, stopping him. "I'm here to help, Damon. Let me help."

Pulling the light jacket that had been slung over the arm of the couch on hastily, Addie spoke in the most commanding voice she could manage. "Deflate the ego, Damon. You say you're here to help, now's your chance to really prove it, Katherine. You're a lot harder to kill than Elena. And a lot stronger. You need to switch places with her, lure Dr. Martin into attacking you and then neutralize him."

Damon snatched his keys from Addie, who had taken them off the hook and looked at her in surprise, "You mean kill him?"

"I was thinking maybe a plan where I'm _not _the bait," Katherine grimaced.

Addie scowled at both Katherine and Damon, "You said you want to help and this is the best way. We need Elena alive in order to kill Klaus. If she gets killed you spend another 500 years running from him. And I didn't say kill him. Obviously he thinks one of ragtag members of Team Crazy is responsible for killing his son. I'm not going to point any fingers but my guess is Mr. Damon Salvatore in the cellar with the flamethrower. People hold grudges over death, typically. He won't stop until he gets revenge."

"Which is why we need to kill him," interrupted Damon.

"Noooo. Why is that everyone's first solution? Can't we just incapacitate him and then compel him to think Luka ran off to join a convent or something?"

Katherine blinked slowly at her, slightly shaking her head. "Your plan takes too long. It's easier to just kill him."

"Screw you, Katherine."

"Damon did."

Fed up with days of her taunting and snide remarks, Addie made to lunge at Katherine but Damon caught her around the ribs and held her back.

"Bad idea, Ads, bad idea. Just because she looks like Elena and you can take down Elena does not mean you stand a chance against Katherine, he muttered in her ear, feeling her struggle against him. Damon finally let her go when he felt her calm down a little. "Now, let's go. We're wasting time." His arm flew up to stop Addie as she began to follow Katherine and him. "Not you. The safest place for you is here. We'll take care of this."

"But it's my plan," protested Addie, not caring if she sounded like she was whining. "And my sister."

Damon shrugged slightly, "Don't care. If you're there I'm only going to be focused on making sure you're ok and not everyone else. You don't need to go needlessly running into a fight. It's one person against all of us. We've got it covered."

"Jerk," she mumbled, staring down at her red Converse.

Simply satisfied that she wasn't going to put up more of a fight, he swiftly kiss her cheek. "Yes, I know how much you love me," he laughed before following Katherine out the door.

* * *

Having showered and changed into what were becoming her most comfortable pajamas, Damon's boxers that she had to double knot the drawstring on and his t-shirt several times too big but always so soft, Addie stretched out on his bed, searching Google for a new desktop background image. She was changing it from turntables so nothing music based. Perhaps something relating to astronomy. The phoenix constellation? Too plain. The northern lights! A perfect mix of light and dark.

The door creaked open and Addie sat up, looking at Damon expectantly. He didn't acknowledge her but went into his closet, hung up his jacket and stripped down to his boxers. Grabbing his towel he head towards the bathroom. He turned the sound machine on as he passed it on his dresses and his room filled with the sound of breaking waves. Whether they talked about anything serious or not, he didn't want Katherine nor Stefan eavesdropping. His lips curled up when he heard Addie huffing and puffing.

"You're seriously going to shower _now_? Without telling me anything?"

"Everyone's fine," he answered, starting to brush his teeth.

Addie lips pinched as she looked at him skeptically, "Dr. Martin?"

"Oh, 'e's 'ead," Damon answered lightly around a mouth full of foamy toothpaste.

"That is _not_ everyone being fine," Addie muttered, turning back to her computer.

After he was done Damon chose to amend his statement, "Alright, I should have said everyone you care about is ok. He caused some pretty major damage at the Grill. Jenna's a little shook up from it according to Ric. Elena seems pretty good, considering. And Katherine thinks she should get a medal for being some kind of hero but she always thinks she deserves some sort of recognition and praise. Enough information me to shower?"

Addie nodded before mumbling to herself, "I will never understand how your ego and Katherine's managed to fit in the same room."

"They wouldn't now. I had no ego, no self-esteem when I was with her. Why else would I have convinced myself into being ok sharing her with Stefan?" Damon remarked bitterly before showering.

It had come down to deciding between northern lights that were mostly bright green against the night sky or a picture where the lights were purple and blue when Damon rolled onto the bed next to her and closed the lid of the computer. Addie barely had a chance to pull her hand away from the mouse in time. Her eyes slid to the corners to glare at him. "I was in the middle of something," she told him dryly.

"Yes, I saw the colorful pictures of lights in the sky you were looking at. It was obviously very important," Damon nodded, his tone overly serious, "and very nerdy."

Shifting from her stomach to her side, Addie pointed a stern finger between his crystal blue eyes and chastised, "You don't get to say anything. You picked a stupid journal."

"It had information about the massacre site," he said defensively.

She rolled her eyes. "Be honest with me, do you know where it is? I mean, you knew Emily Bennett was the key to getting Katherine out of the tomb. It just seems like you would have done whatever you could to keep her safe."

Damon got up from his side and leaned back against the pillows, resting his head against the headboard. "I honestly don't. I _should_ but I don't. I didn't stick around town long after I changed; I couldn't bear to be around Stefan and, despite a daylight ring, I still had to live in secret because most of the men of the Founding Families had seen me shot in the chest.

"I've been wondering about how the town knew Emily Bennett was a witch, though. It's part of why I've been so focused on the journals. I've gathered that Jonathan Gilbert knew she was a witch but he didn't go to the Council about it. I don't know how long he knew before she was killed or how he even knew to begin with. I thought it might have been because she spelled the devices to work but he was convinced that the science behind them worked."

"Did you read the journal where he talks about the rings? The ones Jeremy and Alaric have?" wondered Addie, recalling what she read.

"Actually, John has Ric's now because he's suppose to stop screwing things up with Jenna," Damon rattled off mindlessly before realizing she had mentioned a journal. "That's not important, though. I haven't read anything about the rings."

Addie nodded in thought, moving to rest her head in Damon's lap. "Emily gave the rings to Jonathan and his brother Jeremiah."

Damon stared at the cherry oak wall across from his bed, his gaze unfocused, lost in memories he did his best to lock away. His voice was hollow and distant, "Jeremiah died right when they first started collecting the vampires that night. I overheard my father, Johnathan Gilbert and a few others discussing the casualties."

"He did. Jonathan had thought he had turned into a vampire when he returned home and found him alive. He hadn't initially understood what Emily meant when she said the rings would protect them. Of course Jeremiah couldn't stay in a town where people had seen him die; he moved down to Georgia. I don't think Emily ever expressly told Jonathan she was a witch but after the incident with the ring, I'm guessing he figured it out."

"I can't tell if there was a relationship between them or not. It would have been taboo and totally forbidden but perhaps breaking those rules is just a Gilbert trait," he grinned down at her, affectionately tugging at the lock of dyed hair curled around his finger."

Addie's brows furrowed, "Why would that matter?"

"Emily knew she was going to die," Damon breathed deeply. "My exchange for Katherine was to protect her descendants. There was never anything about her and if she was going to be around, why would she put her trust in me? The question is: how did she know? If she was in a relationship with Jonathan, it makes sense that he would tip her off. I'm certain that he didn't sell her out. That leaves…"

"Why would Katherine sell her out if they were friends?"

"Because they weren't friends. Katherine doesn't have friends. She has people she can use and when she's done with them she get's rid of them. Even knowing that, knowing her, it's still hard to believe that she ratted Emily out to the council."

Addie sat up and look at Damon for a minute, searching for any sign that he had changed since his ex had reappeared.

"You're staring," he pointed out. "It's making me uncomfortable."

"Have you slept with her since she's been back," she blurted out. Addie's hands flew over her mouth and her eyes went wide as she realized what she had said. That thought was meant to stay locked inside her head.

Unsure if he was offended, amused, or mad at himself, Damon crossed his arms and cocked his head at her curiously. "Why the hell would you think that?"

The black material of the shirt she was borrowing felt soft as she ran the hem between her thumb and forefinger. Uncomfortable she shifted and whispered, "Because she implied so. And because we're not having sex. And it's _Katherine_; even if you hate her, if anyone could convince you to cheat on me, it would be her."

"You sound ridiculous, right now," he muttered, grabbing her hands. "Before I explain why all you're reasons for wondering if such an insane thing ever happened, you need to know that I have not even touched her. I've taken her hands off me, I admit, but I haven't touched her. That's not going to change. Understand? I haven't slept with Katherine and I'm not going to." She nodded slightly under the pressure of his gaze. "Good. First of all, I think it has been established many, many times that Katherine lies. It's her profession."

"Except when she tells the truth because she knows that it's the best way to hurt you," Addie mumbled, still not entirely convinced nothing happened between them.

Damon frowned slightly; that was true. "I know she does but that's not the case here. And it's not that big of deal that we aren't sleeping together. I know it might be shocking but I am completely capable of going without sex for as long as it takes for both of use to reach a point where we're ready. I am more than happy just making out with you right now. Also, _nobody_, not even Katherine can convince me to cheat on you. That kind of already happened with Rose and I nearly lost you. I know you'll leave me if I cheat on you. Addie, it's already tearing me up that I created this mess you by lying. Half the time I think the only reason you're with me is to make Katherine jealous and keep me from sleeping her, Like her, you don't want to be with me but you don't want someone else to have me."

"No," she whispered, running her fingers through his damp hair, making it rest in all different directions, "it's not like that. Yes, I hate the idea of Katherine making moves at you and worse, you with her but I'm not just staying with you to make her jealous. You know that all the lies and what you did with Elijah hurt me. I'm trying to work past it. You were right earlier that I'm just making things more messy and confusing. I _know_ I want you and I want us to be happy together. I want to rebuild the trust I had in you. I just… We're both bad at trusting people. And I think we both have a difficult time gaining it. It's two of the many reasons we both pretty much hate everyone. My point, though, is that I don't know how you gained my trust before so I can't even begin to tell you where to start again."

Damon pulled her forward, so she fell against his chest. His bare skin was soft under her fingers, and he smelled like his familiar soap, shampoo and toothpaste. Always responding to the closeness of him, Addie felt her heart begin to race. "I never quite understood how you came to trust me either." he said, sounding slightly amused. "And I know I'm going to have a hard time gaining it back. Hopefully, showing you that I respect your wishes will hopefully put me on the right path. I mean, maybe if you can see I'm completely trusting you and your decisions that will mean something."

Addie considered this as she traced the outlines of his pectoral muscles. "You didn't respect my decision when I want to go tonight," she observed, finding the flaw in his plan.

"That was because I didn't want you to end up dead, Ads! It was dangerous! I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if something happened to you, I'm not going to respect potential death wishes. Remember the girl who stayed home and let Stefan run off and rescue Bonnie and Elena? The girl who was smart enough to not try and tag along on a blind mission to save her sister from kidnappers? The girl who was cautious and careful? Where is she? She wouldn't have demanded going to night," Damon implored pleadingly, desperate for Addie to understand that he just wanted to protect her.

"I guess my reckless boyfriend is rubbing off on me."

Damon laughed, his chest shaking beneath Addie's cheek and fingers. "Don't let him do that. He sounds like a bad influence."

Addie smirked and against the pulse point at the base of his throat she murmured softly, "Oh, he definitely."

She slung her leg over his hip and slid forward until she could brush her lips against his. Damon moaned softly; he wanted to really kiss her, wanted it so badly his whole body ached. He kissed her back, just as lightly at first, then with greater urgency. She felt herself go pliant under his hands as they stroked down through her hair, over her back, to her waist. His hands found their way up under her shirt and smoothed up her spine, tracing the line of her shoulder blades. Addie let her hands drifted over him, his shoulders, the muscles of his arms, his back. When she broke away in need of air, her lips were reddened.

Damon didn't bother fighting the big, slightly lopsided grin on his face. His hands cupped her silky cheeks in his hands and caught her eye, his grin spreading at the blush that colored her face. "You used the 'b' word, _again_," he noted, brushing his thumbs over the red in her cheeks.

"Grow up. It's not a big deal," she muttered. She kissed him long and soft, sweet and gentle, hoping to distract him.

He wasn't having it. When they parted he couldn't resist teasing her, "It totally is. So have we DTRed now?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Addie lied, making to move off of him.

Laughing, he had her on her back in a flash, not wanting to let her go just yet. "You know," he smirked, kissing at her neck. "Defined the relationship Have you stopped freaking out over the idea of commitment? Are we officially boyfriend and girlfriend? Should I go change my Facebook status from 'it's complicated' to 'in a relationship'?"

"I find it vaguely disturbing that you are more in touch with the slang of today's youth than I am."

Damon stopped teasing her with light brushes of his lips to give her a pointed look. "You," he stressed, lighting poking the tip of her nose, "are avoiding the question."

Damon found the way she scrunched up her face adorable. "I'm still not overly fond of those terms and prefer them to not be used but yes, for argument's sake you are my _boyfriend_," she answered, shuddering at the last word.

* * *

**A/N: Um, while I appreciate all reviews and take all feedback into consideration, the reviews from someone who has a problem with everything and remarks on it through out the chapters are particularly special to me. They make me laugh. How much time was wasted reading almost 300,000 words of something you hate? It's like a jibe that's really a compliment, a backhanded insult. I choose to be flattered and thankful to all of you who have read this far! So say what you like or don't like; it's all endearing to me. And who knows? Your words could lead to change.**


	33. Chapter 36

Damon leaned in to kiss her, and he was suddenly under Addie, having shifted down the bed so his head rest against the pillow. His hands had remained firmly on her hips, keeping her close. Her long dark purple hair fell down around them both like a curtain. He felt goosebumps rise underneath his fingertips as he ran his hands up her back. He wanted to tell her how much he had missed being able to hold her, feel close to her this past week. But that would mean having to stop kissing her, and he didn't want to do that. Her fingers were threaded in his hair as he rolled the two of them sideways, pinning her under him. She was softly moaning and squirming in his arms. They were filled with the softness and warmth of her, and his mouth with the taste of her cinnamon toothpaste, and the scent of her skin, watermelon and blackberries consumed him. He could feel her heart, slamming against his chest.

A banging on the door made them both freeze. Damon was the first to recover, going back to softly nibbling where he could see the blood pounding through her neck. The knocking started up again but he ignored it, focused on trying to get Addie to do the same. It tickled when her fingers danced across his abs until he realized she was pushing him away.

"Damon, someone's at the door," Addie whispered harshly, when he didn't stop kissing at her throat.

"Shockingly, I hear the same knocking," he murmured dryly, his lips moving against her skin. "But you, this, is far more interesting than whatever Katherine or Stefan want."

With the banging starting up again, Addie pushed harder at Damon and tried to move her head away from him. "Answer it. I don't think they're going away anytime soon. It could be important."

Grumbling, he rolled off her, "Or it could just be Katherine interrupting again. Besides, when does anyone show up with important news that is _good_? All this bad news is getting annoying."

"Just get the door."

"You do it. You're the curious one. Not to mention you're not the one in just your underwear."

Addie pushed insistently at Damon's shoulder, trying to make him get up, "It's _your _room. And since when have you cared about who sees you in your boxers? Whether it's Katherine or Stefan it's not like it's anything they haven't seen."

"You're annoying," he scowled, turning off the sound machine on the way to the door.

"And you're a dick," Addie retorted, sticking her tongue out at him.

Damon smirked and jokingly suggested, "That's not very nice. I can think of much sweeter things you can do with that tongue."

Glaring at him, she pointed to the door, "Stop being gross and get that."

Acting offended Damon scoffed, "Addison! How could you possibly believe I would think such impure thoughts? I simply meant kissing." Finishing his way to the door he mumbled something about "horny little teenagers with their minds in the gutter."

For the second time that day, Addie unsuccessfully tried to hit him with a pillow. It fell to the floor a few feet behind him, not having been thrown with enough force. "I heard that!"

Laughing, Damon leaned one shoulder against the door and deciding to talk through it, rather than letting whoever it was in and further interrupting the time he was enjoying with Addie. "You better have a really good reason for bothering me." he warned, an unspoken threat underlying his words.

It was Stefan who answered, "Isobel just showed up on Elena's front doorstep."

The screws of the doorknob slipped slightly out of place as Damon quickly yanked the door open, not quite remembering to mind his strength. "What's she doing here?" he snarled, sitting on the edge of his bed, raking a hand through his hand. The soft black locks were drying with a slight curl to them. More wonderful new knowledge.

Stefan shook his head, a look of dread and fear clouding his eyes, "I don't know. That's what I'm gonna go find out."

Damon's mouth went dry when he saw Katherine saunter into his room. He seriously doubted if he could deal with her at this point. "What are you doing here? An open door is not an open invitation. Get out," he sneered.

"No. I want answers from her," Addie interrupted. Her face was drained of blood and her lips were pressed into such a hard, thin line that they were white but there was was a certain fire that flickered in her deep blue eyes that stopped Damon from arguing with her. "We know that you're in cahoots with my uncle. He admitted to Stefan that he was, yet again, working with Isobel to make sure 'Klaus never sets foot in Mystic Falls'. It's not a far leap to assume you're working with Isobel, too. I mean, it's not like it would be the first time; you wanted the tomb vampires dead, too. I'm convinced you knew Isobel was coming to town. If you're actually on our side, tell us what she's playing at. Why is she back here?"

"Wow," Katherine observed, making the word long. "I think Damon's managed to screw his paranoia into you."

Addie quickly grabbed at Damon's bicep, seeing he was about to make a go for Katherine. The muscle twitched and jumped under her hand, waiting to be used. "Don't. I want to hear what she has to say. I can't do that if you kill her."

"Can I at least snap her neck?" he asked, flexing his fingers in preparation.

"We don't have time to wait for her to heal. Isobel is here _now_. Tell us, Katherine."

The other girl nodded slowly, a look of final comprehension on her face. "Now it all makes sense. You know, at first I couldn't see why the hell Damon was with you but I get it now."

"Did I not make myself clear when I told you to leave him alone," Addie snapped, her grip on Damon tightening as she felt him become more tense and agitated. She knew he wanted to attack Katherine for indirectly insulting her but she was aware that his restraint was due to her request. If Addie was lucky, he'd control his temper and keep doing the latter. Pissing off Katherine did not seem like an effective way of getting information from her.

The vampire's laugh was cold and humorless, "See? It's that. This isn't a remark on him; it's a remark on you. You're much more bossy, demanding, and self-assured than when we last met. Not to mention you posses a certain streak for self preservation. Doesn't that seem vaguely familiar? It makes sense why Damon would be with you; he has a type."

The movements happened so fast that Addie's human eyes were unable to catch them. Damon had rushed towards Katherine but Stefan had showed himself between them as soon as he comprehended what was occurring. Katherine, meanwhile, had given Damon a mockingly innocent smile backing out of the room.

Sneering, Damon smacked his little brother's hand away. "Get off me and move," he growled.

"We still need to know what she knows," Addie reminded him, trying to remain calm and rational since she obviously couldn't rely on Damon to do that job. "You can't hurt her."

"Yes," he insisted, starting to pace, "yes, I can. I'll torture the information out of her."

Addie rubbed at her face tiredly. The fact that this was not the first time her boyfriend had viewed murder or torture as the solution to a problem that day was probably a good indicator that she needed to reevaluate her dating choices. Weary, she objected, "Again, we don't have time for that."

"She's not telling either one of you anything after that. I'll talk to her," proposed Stefan.

"You have to go check on Elena and her psycho vampire mother! You don't have time to play Katherine's little mind games!" Addie exclaimed.

Stefan shook his head and tried consoling, "Isobel left the house. She was just there for a few minutes and she was never invited in. Elena's safe. I have a few minutes to deal with Katherine if it means learning what is really going on. Damon."

Hearing his name, his head popped up and his scowled moved from the floor to his brother. He should have let him at Katherine. "What?" Damon spat, noticing little flecks of spit fly from his mouth.

"You, uh, you should probably call Alaric and let him know that his wife just showed up on his girlfriend's doorstep," Stefan advised, slowly backing out of Damon's room as he did so.

"How come I get stuck delivering the bad news?" he muttered rhetorically, snatching his cellphone off the nightstand.

Addie frowned, seeing the tension in his shoulders, hearing it in his voice. "My guess is that bad news is now a deity type thing and gets to choose who delivers what to whom. It probably overheard you bad mouthing it earlier and this is your punishment," Addie jokingly speculated.

Acting on instinct, Damon's hands rested on the bed for balance as he leaned in to kiss her. He tried to intensify it but Addie wouldn't let him, pulling away each time he tried. When he eventually gave up and let her control the lazy, languid kiss she insisted on he could feel the anger leaving his body. His cheeks, his neck, his shoulders, arms, chest and back, everywhere she touched he could feel himself relax. Her hands were like water putting out the fire that burned in him. A soft noise of disappointment and protest escaped when she pulled away.

Her hands rested on his shoulder, slightly pushing him away. "Alaric needs to know about Isobel. It's best if it comes from you, Damon; you're his friend."

"I don't have friends ergo it doesn't matter if it comes from me," he objected, trying to kiss her again. All he got was cheek as she'd turned away.

"Whether you admit it or not, you two have a bromance going on. It is bro code that you tell a fellow bro when his vampire wife shows up to screw with his girlfriend when she thought said wife was dead," Addie informed him, sounding like she was repeating a quote from a book.

Damon snickered, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "No offense, love, but you don't even know girl code. You're marginally better at people code than I am, which doesn't say much. There is no possible way you know anything about bro code."

"Au contraire mon ami. I happen to be fluent in bro code thanks to the Bro Master Barney Stinson of 'How I Met Your Mother'."

"You can't learn bro code from some lowbrow television show, hence I do not need to follow your advice," Damon declared decisively.

Addie's lips puckered in disagreement. She didn't understand why he was being so difficult about this. "Taking it from someone who you admit is better at people code than you and _make the call_. You want the guy to have an aneurysm when he opens his door to get the morning paper and finds Isobel ready to hand it to him?"

Groaning in frustration, Damon straightened back up, whining, "Why do you have to be so _good_?"

"If I was that good, I wouldn't be with you," she pointed out. "Now, if I was as bad as you -"

"We'd have so much fun," smirked Damon.

Other than a quick eye roll, Addie continued on as if she hadn't heard him, "We would probably set the world on fire just for the fun of it."

"Nu-uh. That's you that likes to play with fire. I happen to be highly flammable. We'd more likely travel through Europe robbing banks, creating mass chaos, and seeing how many people we could kill without getting caught," Damon reflected, after a moment of consideration.

"Yeah. Mh-hmm," Addie agreed nodding slowly before clapping her hands over her face and tossing herself back on the bed. "Do you hear how insane you sound? Do you understand why at least one of us has to try and make sure we do the right things? I can see you turning off your humanity again. I sure as hell would if I turned. And then _both of us_ constantly searching for that high you talked about? We would be menaces to society. I'd probably want to be the queen of my own country. You know, Iceland would probably be a good place to do that. Did you know they've never had a military? There's no way they could stand up against our power. Plus 60% of the people there believe in the supernatural but they consider it to be fairies, trolls, gnomes, things like that. No way they would ever except two vampires took control of their country mostly to see the northern lights."

"You, uh, you've given this whole evil thing some thought haven't you?" Damon stammered, slightly bewildered.

Ominously Addie said, "Oh, those are the nice things I would do. You have no idea how dark my mind is, Damon Salvatore. I just don't act on most of my thoughts. Now, call Alaric." He sighed, running a hand through his hair, the muscles in his arm visibly tightening again. "Just rip it - actually, you've probably never used a Band-Aid. My point is go and get it over with so you can stop stressing over it."

"Ok. Alright. I'm going. I'll be back in a few minutes." The door rattled slightly on its hinges as it slammed closed behind Damon.

Addie couldn't help but find it odd that Damon was so bothered about having to tell Alaric about Isobel. Though, he had been acting a little odd in general since the altercation with the late Dr. Martin. Perhaps she was just being overly critical and looking for things that didn't make sense, trying to catch him in a lie. Her mind teeter-tottered on whether or not she should still trust him.

Deciding to simply trust him, Addie pulled out her laptop from beneath the pillow. It always turned out negative when she began thinking too hard about Damon; there were just too many major difference and problem areas between them. Though he hadn't outright confessed to killing Luka Martin when she accused him of it, he hadn't denied it. She didn't know the full story there but that marked his first kill of the day. Then, Damon was the one who had jumped to the solution of killing Dr. Martin rather than compelling him about Luka because it was easier. That marked the second murder he had been involved in within 12 hours. Whether it was his violent tendencies or the recent lies he had been telling that caused the most friction between them Addie was unsure.

Damn it; she was still thinking about him. Determined to get Damon offer his mind Addie pulled up Facebook; scrolling through the remarks of peers she never even talked to on politics, their constantly changing relationships and every other meaningless detail of their lives might be distracting enough. When the page finally loaded an instant message from Bonnie popped up.

**Bonnie: What happened with Isobel? Why did she show up? All Elena told me was that she did and she never texted back. Is she ok? And most importantly, when did Damon become more important than girl's night? Than your friends!**

Reading the words, Addie winced slightly in guilt. She had been so paranoid about Katherine seducing Damon that she hadn't really considered how selfish it was to leave Caroline, tormented by her problems with Matt, and Bonnie, distraught over having her powers taken away, with only Elena. That her self-centered sister was a better friend than she was proved to be slightly alarming; she hadn't chosen to spend time with Stefan instead. Though, Stefan hadn't been lying to her lately and she wasn't concerned about him sleeping with his ex-girlfriend, who was currently staying at his house.

_Addie: I don't know what happened or why she showed up. I think Katherine knows and I tried to get it out of her but…. Well, Stefan was going to try talking her before he went to the house to figure out from Elena exactly what happened. And Damon isn't more important than you guys. It's just… it's complicated and I don't want to discuss it. I already heard the same lecture you'd give me from my sister. _

**Bonnie: Dump him.**

**Bonnie: Just kidding.**

The bottom of the chat window indicated Bonnie was typing non-stop for nearly two. If she could gamble, Addie would place her bets on the witch writing a very long anti-Damon speech. Now was not a good time to be confronted with another one of those.

_Addie: Don't say anything against Damon. I know his flaws. I know I'm crazy for ignoring them. I know you think it's wrong. And I know I should have been there tonight. I'm sorry. I'll be better with my time management, I promise. Just save the lecture. _

**Bonnie: Well, I suppose it's ok. Things got pretty crazy tonight. I'm glad you didn't have to deal with it**

Frustrated, Addie pressed down on a random stream of letters. The guilt made her feel jittery and attacking the keyboard, already under her hands, was a quicker solution than running her fingers through her hair. It was, at least she was 99% certain, it was Damon who sent Dr. Martin into a fury, grief induced rampage. Even if he didn't cast the spells, he was responsible for the damage and trauma everyone experienced. And no, she wasn't even considering leaving him. Highlighting and deleting the gibberish, Addie mumbled, "I'm so not going down that road tonight; I'll end up a self-loathing psychotic nutcase if I question what my relationship says about me as a person."

**Bonnie: Are you alone?**

_Addie: Just so you know, you just got an eye roll. I might spend most of my time at Damon's house but that doesn't mean I spend it all with him; we're not attached at the hip. I'd probably end up murdering him if I didn't get breaks. Have you ever noticed how annoying he can be?_

**Bonnie: lol yes, I have definitely noticed. Are you on a break now?**

_Addie: Yeah, he's off calling Alaric about Isobel. Why?_

**Bonnie: You might have flaked off tonight but I know you. You never would have told him I lost my powers. I don't think he'd be too happy if he overread that I got them back and you were keeping a secret like that from him. **

Suddenly nervous, Addie's head spun to check the bathroom, near the window, by Damon's closet, draw, and dresser that he hadn't silently slipped back into the room with that creepy, sneaky, vampire stealth. More guilt knotted in her stomach; she was upset with Damon for lying; her not admitting the truth didn't see much better. _But_ it wasn't her secret to tell. Addie's thoughts came to a jarring halt. Hadn't Bonnie said something important?

_Addie: You what?! How?_

**Bonnie: Dr. Martin gave them back right before he died and he also let me know how to kill Klaus.**

_Addie: …...Excuse me, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around you knowing how to kill Klaus and this whole mess finally being over._

**Bonnie: There's just one tiny little problem: I need to find the spot where the Salem witches were burned. That's not exactly marked on a map.**

Brows furrowed in thought, Addie couldn't help but question how honest Damon had been when he said he didn't know the location. With his obsessive habits she couldn't believe him not keeping track of Emily Bennett after he left town. He had to have been getting status updates about her someway; she was his link back to Katherine. If he had a liaison person, they might have given some clue about where she was killed; something he might not even realize.

_Addie: You have to let me tell Damon about this. _

The door made a slight creak as it open. Walking in, Damon looked… off. He was still attractive, maybe even more so with his hair curling at the ends and a bit disheveled from her playing with it, in Addie's opinion. It was something in the way he moved towards the bed and how he carried himself. Realizing the look, Addie felt the smile slip from her face; it was a look she had been all too familiar with at several points in her short life. He was emotionally drained, exhausted.

"Whatcha up to?" he asked, nodding towards the laptop.

Flushing, Addie briefly put her finger to her lips in a shushing motion. "Talking about you," she admitted, slightly embarrassed.

At her silent reminder that, while Stefan was gone, Katherine was still in the house Damon turned the sound maker back on, the sound of the ocean filling the room to block their conversation from being overheard. "All good I trust."

Addie giggled as he climbed into bed after turning off the light. Between the glow of her computer screen and the moonlight streaming in through the windows, the curtains pulled aside, Damon could clearly make out her the smile she tried to fight as she pursed her lips and the teasing sparkle in her eyes. "Trust whatever you want but have you ever met you?"

"You little minx," chuckled Damon, leaning in to kiss her but getting a hand in the face.

**Bonnie: I guess it's ok. He's going to find out eventually.**

With one hand busy trying to keep Damon from seeing the screen, Addie began to type a slow response. "If you will just cool your jets, I'll be done in a minute. Business before pleasure. By the way, you better be using that term as a synonym for mischievous imp and not whore."

"Oh, I'm definitely using it to replace whore," Damon snickered, nodding vigorously. "You are the queen of virgin whores. For someone so rational it's very irrational to think that it would make sense for me to use it that way or that I would ever see you like that. Now, thinking you of as an adorable but annoying, mischievous little fairy is another story."

_Addie: It's just that I think he can help. I'm gonna go talk to him right now. I'll text you after._

Not waiting for Bonnie's reply Addie shut the laptop, putting it into sleep mode. While moving it to her - the nightstand on her side of the of the bed she pondered, "How do you come up with fairy from imp?"

"I thought of Tinkerbell. She was a common fairy while you're an ordinary girl in all this strange. Then there was the fact that she was sometimes a little naughty and did things she shouldn't; don't think I delude myself into thinking you're an angel just because I call you good. But you are good, just like Tinkerbell when she's helpful and kind to Peter, for whom she has romantic feelings and is a boy who never grows up or old," rationalized Damon matter-of-factly, tucking his hands behind his head.

Addie clasped her hand to her mouth, trying not to break into laughter. "And, uh, do you," she couldn't hold back the giggle, "do you make it a habit to memorize Disney movies? Carefully analyze the characters and think of them so often that it's on the top of your head as a retort?"

Damon was quick to defend himself, stating, "I don't make a habit of it but I do have an excellent memory and when you have eternity there's plenty of time to see movies. I had to compare it to the book. Nor do I analyze Disney characters on a regular basis. However, that night after the bachelor charity thing when Alaric followed me back and he would have killed you if I gave a damn about your opinion in the matter, you were wearing a green, short, strapless dress and for some strange reason you reminded me of Tinkerbell. I figured it just had to do with the dress being remotely similar and you being short. Bu-"

"Ok, I am not that short!" Addie interrupted, holding a hand up to stop him. Accusingly she pointed at him, "You are short. You don't get to call a fellow short person short, not that I am. I've already told you I'm fun size."

"And how many times do I have to tell you I'm not short? I'm average height. You are shorter than me. You are shorter than average height. You are short," Damon insisted. "Now, we can argue this all night or you can show me how fun you are now that business is over and we can get to the pleasure."

He propped himself up on one elbow, and slipped a hand around the back of her neck. Addie see herself reflected in his eyes, the pupils so dilated the ring of crystal blue was barely visible. She felt his lips brushing hers, but she drew back, not quite allowing the kiss. She definitely wanted to but not yet.

"Actually," she hesitated, slightly pushing at his chest, "the business isn't over. The place where the witches -"

Damon groaned loud enough to drown out her words. Weary, he asked, "Why are you bring this up? Actually, no, I don't want to know. I'm taking the Addison Gilbert approach towards the supernatural tonight: avoidance."

Addie frowned; she hated having to ask him about this when he clearly didn't anything to do with it. She knew how that felt since the day her she read Elena's diary where she claimed he was a vampire and Addie got sucked down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. But this was important. They had to be ready when Klaus showed up. "I don't think that's going to work. You're a vampire. I don't exactly think you can escape who you are. And technically, my approach isn't avoidance. My boyfriend's a vampire, you see. If he wasn't then he'd be a corpse and I tend to draw a line at necrophila."

"Mmm… I do like the sound of being your living dead vampire _boyfriend_ with you not avoiding me," he smirked. Moving slightly faster than humanly possible he surprised Addie, catching her in a kiss. He took advantage of her slight gasp, slipping his tongue in her mouth.

He had the bitter taste of alcohol with an odd level of sweetness and the tiniest traces of toothpaste. It was harder to break away this time. She was surprised to find her fingers buried in his hair. Deciding not to resist the pull to him, Addie sighed resting her forehead against his. They really had to talk. "What have I said about using your vampire advantages?"

"Don't."

"So what did you do?"

Damon grinned like a kid who successfully stole from the cookie jar. "Used a vampire advantage."

"That's not fair."

"All's fair in love and war," he murmured, softly kissing her.

"This is neither, though. And according to the Geneva Convention biological warfare is _not_ fair in war. Also, I think there might be international maritime warfare laws," fumbled Addie, uncomfortable that he had used the word 'love'.

"Ok, so involving civilians isn't fair in war. But you and me? We're kind of like a war. There's an ongoing struggle to see who drives the other crazy first."

Addie laughed, "Seriously, what did you drink while you were gone? You're intoxicated to the point of making no sense. You see, while one of will eventually be driven crazy because we're both have a tendency to be an annoying fartface, it's not a battle to see who can do it first. It's not war."

"I am actually not intoxicated or impaired to the slightest degree," Damon protested, one side of his lips pulling up as he tapped the tip of her nose with each word. His finger must have lingered a little too long as she tried to bite at it. With his quicker reflexes, his finger was far out of reach when her teeth came together with a light clicking. "You insisted that Alaric was is my friend and it would have been very unfriendly of me to let him drown himself in a bottle of tequila over the phone; he'd look like an alcoholic drinking alone. It was my duty as a good friend to have a drink with him. However, I was more in a rum mood as opposed to tequila."

A contemplative look crossed Addie's face for the briefest of seconds before she decided to pull Damon in for a hard, exploratory kiss. As much as she tried, she didn't seem to be making any headway on getting past his lips. He was just as determined to have control. Frustrated, Addie unconsciously gave a soft growl.

Snickering into the kiss, Damon pulled away just enough to smirk, his lips brushing against hers, "Not satisfied, love?"

"No," Addie grumbled, cupping a hand around the back of his head, his hair like silk between his fingers. The satisfaction she got from him complying when she pulled him back into the kiss was short lived as it was obvious that he was not going to stop fighting for control. "You're a dick," she huffed, giving up.

Damon's lips curled into a smile as he finished kicking the blanket off of him. For a fraction of a second he took the time to just appreciate her. Her lips, full and red from kissing, were set in a pout. It was obvious he had enjoyed playing with her hair. No makeup covered her face and a small pimple was starting right above her left eyebrow. His shirt was too big, the v-cut was just a little low and if she was any other girl it would be considered long enough that she didn't need his boxers. She was ordinary and yet he couldn't see her as anything but exquisite. This was definitely her best look; relaxed, dressed down in his clothes. Not that he was particularly possessive.

Taking advantage of the fact that she was more focused on pouting than him, Damon used his speed to slip his hands at cinch of her waist and pulled her atop him. He laughed at her high pitched squeal of surprise. She batted gently at his chest, which on made him laugh again as he continued to gaze up at her.

"No vampire stuff! Ugh! You're a pompous, hard headed, manipulating _dick_!"

"Yes, yes I am," he said in a mocking comforting voice that one might use with a bawling three year old. His fingers lifted the hem of his shirt and, teasing the delicate skin just above his boxers, he made a slow trail of skimming fingertips up her spine, encouraging her to lean into him. Damon hoped his face didn't betray the smug sense of pride he got when he felt the chill down his back. Having reached the top of heck his hands drifted down to cup her shoulders, lightly pressing his fingers into the stiff muscles and simultaneously pulling her closer. Her eyes had almost darkened to black. They slowly moved from his heavy lidded ones to his lips but fluttered closed when he started the small massage.

"I'm mad at you," Addie protested weakly, resisting the urge to rest against him.

"You're just pouty because I'm not letting you get your way. Come here," he whispered. Damon wasn't entirely sure if he guided her the last few inches so their chest were pressed together or if he had pulled her. She tried to kiss him but he moved his head so that his lips landed where her jaw and throat connected. He kissed.

Instinctively, Addie's back arched, pressing her chest firmer against Damon's. Through the thin fabric of his shirt she could feel his heart beating; it may have been pulsating faster than usual but it wasn't racing like hers. _Dick!_ The gentle kisses along her neck, the hands digging into her muscles just enough to leave her wanting more - it was all just teasing. She made a small whimper of disappointment.

"I'm sorry," he murmured between kisses. "Am I still not satisfying you?"

"Dick," she breathed, trying to pull away. Her mind started to clear from the Damon induced trace. She'd only kissed him for a quick joke. The joke was for some purpose. They needed to talk. He didn't want to.

One hand pressed between her shoulderblades and the other low on her back, his fingers pushing the limits by slightly grabbing at her ass, Damon kept her pressed firmly to him. He wasn't done yet. "We know that," he dismissed. Addie's mind started to go foggy again as he nipped softly at her neck. "However, you tried to bite me," he sighed with feigned disappointment.

Her hand curled at the sheet as his little nip was stronger this time. Writhing and squirming in attempt to get out of his grasp was futile; all that did was make her aware that his heartbeat has taken on speed. Damon was serious now. He was still teasing her but Addie knew that was just a prelude to what he wanted to do. She could understand his desire. Earlier they were interrupted before either of them could really enjoy the kissing. And it _had _been awhile since they had their last little foray before she got sick and then he'd pissed her off. Addie winced in realization; it really had only been a week. But it didn't make them desperate when Damon looked like Damon and he had that charm and his libido was ten times a normal young man's. It wasn't like they were Stefan and Elena who spent so much time on their physical relationship that it cut into the school day.

They could; it would be fun. Damon deserved some fun. He was tired of sacrifices and crazy ex-girlfriends and _witches_. She had to talk to him about Emily first, though.

"Damon, please," she whispered as his teeth scraped across her skin harder. Addie didn't know where the 'stop' she meant to add got lost.

His lips were back at her back at her ear, his teasing, taunting voice lower, throatier than before. "Please, what? Please remind you that you should know by now who's the vampire and does the biting in this relationship?"

"Don't!" she begged, feeling his lips brush over her weak spot. "Stop, Damon!"

"What's wrong?" he asked, recoiling back. Quickly, Damon gently took her by the chin and roamed her face for any signs of distress. An empty pit of despair became what his stomach once was when he saw the frustration and disappointment in her eyes.

Addie rested her elbow next to Damon's head and supported her forehead with her cupped hand. It was her fault they had to discuss this when he wanted a break from it. It was her sister and friends and family they were trying to save by killing Klaus. He'd shouldn't be tangled up in the mess; the only reason he was still in town, according to him, was for her. Guiltily she stammered, "I - I - I, we, have -"

His thumb traced over her lips, following up one corner and over her cheekbone. "Addie, you know you can tell me anything, right? You don't have to be nervous. If I did something wrong or -"

"You didn't," she whispered firmly, her conviction cutting him off. "I don't want to do this now, I want what you want, but this takes precedence. Business before pleasure."

"We're back to _that_? We just made a full circle back to the site? I don't wanna talk about any of that, Ads," Damon whined. Addie wished she timed how long he loudly groaned on a single breath.

She gave him a stern look when he was finally quiet. "Done?"

"Almost," he smirked, groaning for a few more seconds. "Now I am."

"I need to know if-"

"Addie! Drop it. It can wait until tomorrow."

"I told Bonnie I would get back to her _tonight_ about it," she protested.

It took replaying her word three times for him to fully process what she said but he still didn't understand. He disgruntledly demanded, "Why does the witch know about the site?" Damon placed two fingers over her lips, seeing the smart retort form in her eyes. "Don't answer that. I don't care. We need a witch for the plan and blah, blah, blah. I just really don't care."

It made her shiver to hear how apathetic he sounded. Hoping she was just cold, Damon kicked at the black silk comforter until he could reach to pull it up and around them. Addie rested her head on the pillow next to his and brushed a kiss against his cheek. Slipping her hands up the top of his chest and interlacing her fingers behind his neck, she whispered, "Thanks."

After a minute Damon turned his head towards her. There was a lifeless aspect to his eyes and voice when he spoke, "Sorry. I _do_ care about this stuff and saving your sister and protecting you. At this exact moment, though, the only thing I give a damn about is protecting you, taking care of you, making you happy. Only and nothing but you is all I can care about right now. I'm just too…"

"Emotionally spent to maintain a heroic level of concern about every little problem?" suggested Addie, brushing his naturally hair on and off of his forehead.

"Yeah," he scoffed, "emotionally spent is an understatement. I don't think I ever reached the heroic level of concern, though."

"You've stuck around. You've faced potential death several times, though you kinda got yourself into the majority of those situations, but you've saved others. Not mention you haven't killed Satan; you've actually managed to tolerate them. Considering who you are and that you didn't have to do any of that, it's pretty heroic," contracted Addie. Damon gave her a look mild disbelief and an eye roll. "I'm not sure if Satan is my sister or Katherine, though," she added while silently considering if Damon actually failed to see just how good he could be, didn't want to believe it, or simply didn't want to admit it.

"Katherine. Katherine is the devil in Prada," he rapidly decided, almost cutting Addie off.

Tired of laying on her stomach, she tried to push away from Damon. "That was a chick-flick."

"Nooooooo," whined Damon, rolling them onto their sides, "Stay." The warmth of her breath as she nestled into the crook of his neck and the warm trails left by the random rovings of her hands were remedying. If only he could just stay with her. "_The Devil _Wears _Prada_ was a movie and a book."

She could feel his breathing slow as her hands slipped into his hair, lightly ruffling the midnight locks. "You know more about Disney movies and chick flicks and I do. I thought I was dating a big, bad, scary vampire."

It wasn't important that she know he his knowledge was mostly picked up during his attempts to sleep with other girls. Compelling them into it just wasn't that fun; he preferred to work his charm and charisma. Though, neither of those really seemed to work on Addie. "That guy is off caring and worrying about everything."

Several minutes passed with Addie uncertain of what to say. Tracing letters and shapes over his heart she could feel that it had returned to its regular beat. Though she didn't think he could pull her any closer if he even tried, there was still a sense of distance from him. Eventually she mumbled the only thing she could think, "I'm sorry, Damon. This is my fault, You wouldn't be dealing with all of this if you weren't trying to help protect the people I care about."

"I don't blame you, Ads. I don't even mind doing it because I know if something bad happens you're going to hurt. I don't like to see you hurt; I never have. The night we met, I was going to kill you just because I saw how much pain you were in but then I decided I wanted to see you truly happy so I compelled you," Damon explained. He couldn't see her face pressed against his neck but he could feel the tension in her body as he held her to him. She really did believe this was her fault. "You're not a crazy Original trying to sacrifice people nor are you Katherine who killed herself rather than getting this stupid thing over with 500 years ago. I get it was a form of self-preservation but really, all our troubles seem to circle back to Katherine so I blame her and Klaus." The slightest twitch to his lips occurred as he felt her relax a little more into him.

"I just need a break from it all so I can build back up the energy to care. If I don't, I'm going to slip up and someone's going to get hurt which means you'll hurt. I _want_ to do this for you, love. But tonight, I can't be the arrogant, self-assured positive guy that believes he _will_ find a way to win all the battles because he… he cares so much for you," Damon finished lamely, knowing how distressed she would become if he said how he truly felt.

Slightly unsure of what he was saying, Addie stated on what she thought she could decipher, "I don't want you doing this for me if it means you're being someone you're not."

"I _am_ that guy; I'm not faking who I am for you. Oddly, I'm the most honest, real version of me when I'm with you. Now, if I pretended to give one flip about whatever you have to say regarding the site and Bonnie tonight, _then_ I'd be pretending and would be your whipped little boy toy who does anything and everything to please you. See," he paused to inhale sharply through his teeth and shake his head, "I did that with Katherine and it didn't turn out too well. I've learned I gotta set some boundaries for myself. I'm tired of caring about everything so I'm not going to pretend to. I'm just gonna take a little break; you can tell me whatever to."

She tucked her head in the crook of his neck, her lashes brushing against him when she blinked. After several minutes she worried, "Damon, you get every night to sleep and most evenings we don't discuss everything going on. How is one night going to be enough of a break for you?"

"It's going to have to be," he muttered bitterly. "I not like I can walk away. In case you forgot, Mommy Dearest dropped into town tonight and that's an additional front we have to defend and secure."

Her eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed as she moved to catch his eyes, the steely blue reflecting in the moonlight. Determined, she asserted, "Do it."

"Do what?"

"Walk away."

Grabbing her by the waist, Damon rotated until she was resting on the right side of the bed, on her pillow. "Ok, love," he smile sweetly and used the same voice he would have were he dealing with a small child. Silent laughter bubbled in him as he pulled the covers up to her neck and patted her lightly on the head. "It's night-night time. Someone's so tired from a long day that their spouting nonsense."

"I know it sounds crazy but it's rational. Consider it," implored Addie, pushing the blankets back down around her waist and inclining herself on her elbow.

He sighed heavily, scrunched up his face like Addie did when doing her Latin homework - though she seemed to miss the comparison - and waited a full two seconds. "I think that," Damon drew out slowly as if truly contemplating the idea while gently pushing her back down and pulling the comforter back up, "you're slowly going insane."

"That's probably true but you're quickly going insane."

Damon smirked, quickly quipping back, "That's probably because my girlfriend drives me ten types of crazy."

It had been awhile since he had said that. The corners of her lips tugged upwards; it was familiar and almost a sign of affection at this point. "You probably just have a tendency to bring out the crazy in her. I'm serious, though. You need an actual break. You said yourself that when you don't care people get hurt. You sleep almost every night; tonight isn't going to make any difference. It's not just that you need a break from this drama, you need a break to be you."

He stared at her serious face trying to reason out how she even thought it was possible for him to walk away with her safety being involved and how he was suppose to take a break to be himself. A glance at the clock told him it was closing in on midnight. The best way to deal with her would to be to simply not. "You see, this is one way you drive me crazy: you make sense then you tell me I need a break to be me. I am me. Addie logic lacks the concept of logic. What I understand is that you have the first meet you're actually running in at 9 AM and hour and a half away. The latest you can get up is 6:45. If you're lucky and your sleeping pills work, it's going to take you 15 minutes after we finished talking for you to fall asleep. I'm indulging you until midnight, which leaves you with six and half hours of sleep."

Addie knew he was trying to distract and damn if it didn't work. With great suspicion she demanded, "How do you know I'm running tomorrow? How do you even know there's a meet? I haven't told anyone."

"I know you haven't. Don't think I'm not a little upset with you about that. You listed off all the meets back when the season started. I happened to listen and remember because I care about the things you enjoy. And while you haven't really talked to me this week considering you've been upset, that hasn't stopped you from talking in your sleep," he answered, a hint of smugness and arrogance in his voice. She'd tried to keep something from him but he found out anyway.

"I do not!" cried Addie indignantly.

Smirking, he tapped her nose piercing lightly. "You do. Don't worry, you only talk about things you stress over like tests, the Klaus problem, and the like. I've never heard you say anything about me. I did gather that you found out only yesterday that you're running, though. Why so late? And why keep it a secret? It's an honor."

Her mouth felt like cotton. 11:57. She was more interested in discussing him needing a mini-vacation. In an attempt to get back to her point in the short time she rushed, "I'm a replacement; a girl got mono. I'm nervous enough. I didn't want people talking about it."

"You can either ride with me or with the team but I'm going tomorrow. Shut your mouth and save yourself the time. I'm going," insisted Damon, discouraging her when he could see her start to object. "We're both on break until after your meet. You can tell me whatever you need to then."

"You need a _real_ break. Go out with Alaric tomorrow night and get wasted. Go snatch-eat-erase half of Charlottesville. Go to a stip club! Just get away tomorrow night and have fun!" Addie quickly urged, watching the clock switch to a new day.

He followed her eyes. Damon snorted, of course she'd squeeze in something he needed to respond to at the last second. "I do need a break but not like what you're talking about. I'll get away tomorrow night if you come with me."

Addie shook her head, he wasn't understanding her. "Damon, I don't think this mess is the only thing that's emotionally draining you. You said you're doing all this for me. You're still here _for me._ It's not exactly a secret that you _really_ enjoyed your bachelorhood. Now you're in a monogamous, sex-free relationship where you moderate your drinking; yes, I've noticed so don't deny it. You're on a blood bag diet and minus the occasional bad guy or over zealous reactions or life crisis, you're living a pretty humane life. No puppets, no killing, no eating. Damon when, in 145 years has that been you? Never, to my knowledge. I do know another guy who tries to live like that, though. The guy with the hero hair? Dates my sister? You say you're not pretending to be anything but it's got to be tiring being someone completely different after so long." Though, she wasn't sure he wasn't pretending.

That was a potentially long and uncomfortable conversation he did not want to have; especially when they had to get up early. Damon rolled to face away from her and punched his pillow into a more comfortable shape. He was shutting this down for tonight. "It's not a lifestyle change that's draining me. Now, take your pills and go to sleep, Addison."

The muscles of his back stood out in definition as Addie watched him. She shook his shoulder; Addie wasn't don't talking. He didn't see what she did, see how wrong it all was. When Damon grunted after about two minutes and shook her off, it was obvious she wasn't going to get anywhere. Loudly sighing, she reached of to the nightstand and poured out two sleeping pill. Then one more. Damon would wake her, she didn't need to worry about sleeping through the alarm. With the water bottle she always kept by the bed, the medicine went down easy. Addie gazed out Damon's larger windows as she waited for the fuzzy feeling of sleep to descend.

"I want to live in a big city but the stars are one thing I'll miss. You're room has an amazing view," she appreciated.

"Not in the morning," Damon muttered dryly, surprising Addie. "It faces the east; that's why I keep the curtains closed usually. I _should_ close them."

"Don't. We have to get up early, anyways."

* * *

Even the sight of Damon leaned back against the boot of his car, hands in one of his many black jackets, with a crooked grin on his face couldn't cheer Addie up as she left the Lincoln High girl's locker room, There had been no way she was driving an hour and a half back to Mystic Falls without showering. The meet had been a disaster. Her times in the 100 meter and 100 meter relay had both been just below 12.7 seconds. If she'd done closer to her usual 11.7, she would have at made third place in the 100 meter relay. The 100 meter hurdles… she wasn't even going to think about that.

At five feet, Addie was not built for hurdles. Concrete proof of that came at the second hurdle when she did _something_ wrong. Exactly what had caused the shooting pain through her putt and down to behind her knee, she wasn't sure. Whatever it was, Addie doubted it was good, considering every time she stepped or twisted the wrong way set the pain off again. She had to shift her wallet to the other side because the pressure of it caused the shooting pain. As long as she left it alone though, it was just a dull ache.

"What's with the whole scowl-y look?," asked Damon when she got within earshot, circling his face with a finger and making the same grim expression she had. "You guys got second in the relay; we should be celebrating," he grinned, trying to pull her into a hug.

"You know why," Addie grumbled as she avoided his reach. Thankfully the passenger door was already unlocked. She tossed her bag into the back seat and gave Damon an expectant look when she saw he hadn't moved and simply looked befuddled. "Let's go," she snapped. A touch of guilt plagued her getting in the car; she hadn't meant to be so harsh to him.

Damon tossed her a frustrated glance as he turned the key in the ignition. "Actually, I don't know. My powers stop at mind reading. Care to enlighten me?"

Addie scowled, shifting until sitting didn't cause the shooting pain in her thigh, "My times sucked."

"You got second place," he countered, pulling out of the parking lot.

"My times were still bad."

Pulling the schedule out of his pocket, Damon passed it to Addie with an exasperated sigh, "Six schools. Fourteen events. Approximately sixty girls. Three freshmen. _Three_, Ads. You were competing against older girls who are closer to having reached their peak of physical fitness. Not to mention, you know, I knew you were short but I didn't know you came from munchkinLand. You have to take like two strides for everyone else's one."

Without looking at the program, Addie tossed it on the dashboard, "I was off from my own averages; that pisses me off. I don't care about everyone else's times If I cared about other people's ability I would have picked a team sport. I don't even like the relay; the others pick up for the weakest runner, in this case me. And yes, I'm very aware of how short I am compared to all the other runners. That's why it makes no friggin sense that someone else didn't do the hurdles, even if I was subbing for 5'9" Kelly." Her hands flew up in an annoyed manner by the time she was done with her rant.

"You need to take a chill pill. I'm next time do like the pros and eat your Wheaties," grinned Damon, tickling her stomach.

Batting away his hand, Addie glared at him, "I'm not the one who made chocolate chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast."

"You complain if I make anything besides pancakes."

"That's because you always try and make it healthy! Try adding cinnamon rather than _protein powder_ to the egg mixture!"

"How was I supposed to know it would clump up?" Damon snapped back defensively.

"You just don't try mixing the two together! The 12 grain, honey oat, whatever bread that I enjoy hiding the taste of with the _normal_ egg dip and lots of maple serious is already healthy enough."

"Broadening your palette and eating a healthy diet isn't going to kill you, Addie."

She had to scoff at this, "You don't know that! It _might_. First and only time I ate whole wheat linguine I choked on it. Jeremy shoving his fingers down my throat and pulling a long piece of pasta out of my mouth was revolting. And why do _you_ care about a healthy diet? You can't be worried about getting out of shape with that vampire metabolism…. Or can you? Would you start gaining weight if you just kept bingeing on sorority girls?"

He exhaled loudly and slowly, his grip on the steering wheel tightening, "I doubt I would; definitely have done my share of overfeeding, particularly when my humanity was off, and I've never a notice - well, not entirely true. I've put on muscle mass since 1864 but that could have been a vampire thing or the fact that I started testing out the limits of my strengths. Verdict's out on that question. For me a healthy diet is blood, love. You, unfortunately, are not immortal, which is why I care. Though sometimes I really wonder how I manage to. Reasoning with you is like dealing with a five year-old."

"Aw, how adorable. I feel the exact same way about you," Addie sneered, patting just above his knee.

Before she could pull away, Damon interlaced their fingers and rested them on the console between them. He squeezed lightly and muttered, "Brat."

"Dick," she quipped back, returning the gesture.

A comfortable silence settled in around them. Addie knew she should bring up the massacre site but it was a long drive back. Surely, neither one of them wanted to spend the whole drive back fighting. There was enough time for her to bring it up later.

A light musical tune emitted from Damon pants. When he didn't Addie gave him a curious look. "You gonna get that?"

"Definitely," he nodded as the ringing stop. "My voicemail is picking it up right now."

"My sarcasm is rubbing off on you."

"Possibly."

"Only you're not funny."

"I find me hilarious."

"We spend far too much time together," Addie mumbled, pulling her vibrating from her pocket.

"I completely disagree."

Having read the new text message, Addie threw her head back against the seat and let out a loud, frustrated noise.

Damon quickly looked at her with coolly raised eyebrow. "We'll spend less time together, then."

Addie, shaking her head, huffed, "I don't want that. You probably should have answered your phone. Elena just texted saying my brilliant uncle invited Isobel into the house."

"I'm gonna kill him," Damon responded matter-of-factly, nodding like a bobble head.

Damon's grip on her hand had tightened to the point of hurting. Addie tried to pull away but found that she couldn't. "That can't be your solution for everything. You need some anger management; you're crushing my non-vampire hand."

He immediately dropped her hand, his going back to the steering wheel and clenching until his knuckles turned white. "You're right," he admitted after a moment. "I'm gonna kill Isobel first."

"That's still the same solution," Addie pointed out.

A muscle jumped in Damon's jaw and light red of anger colored his whole face. It was obvious he was fighting to keep tight control over his voice, "She's been _invited in_, Addie. She works with Katherine and John. She kidnapped you and threatened your life the last time she was in town, if you don't remember. She's not safe."

"Oh, you didn't, I don't know, consider the chance she might be crazy before you turned her! I mean, what sane, rational person goes looking for vampires because she finds them fascinating? Decides she wants to be one? And, I mean, what the hell? And is John stupid or something? If he's going to send the mother of his child to a vampire why does he pick the craziest one there is?" Addie rambled, growing more hysteric. It wasn't that she care so much about what she was saying but that, as much as she didn't like to classify him as good or bad, it felt like little explosions of conflicting feelings on who he really was were going off in her head.

Damon held up one finger while the others still clutched at the wheel and darkly noted, "_One:_ I object to the accusation of craziest vampire. Klaus is the one wanting to due a human sacrifice and he has obsessively chased after Katherine for over 500 years. I learned my lesson after 145. Trust me, Ads, I border on being a sane vampire. The vampires you've met haven't been typical; they just make me look crazy." Another finger went up as did his voice as he tried to convey the simple idea, "_Two:_ Your uncle is an idiot and the sooner you wrap your mind around that the easier this will all be." Another finger and annoyance, "_Three:_ Of course I knew Isobel was crazy but, really, that just meant more fun. She's not the first person I've turned with questionable sanity. How was I supposed to know her instability would be directed against my girlfriend a few years down the line? _Now,_ I have to kill her. _Yes_, you're in danger because of something I did in my past. I'm sorry we're in this situation but I'm not apologizing for what I did though. It's who I was and what I did. You _know_ I've done some really bad things. I don't get why you're so upset over this when it's relatively minor to other things and easily fixable."

Because killing everyone you had a problem with wasn't how you fixed things? Because this woman was a danger to Elena and he was the one who made her into something lethal? How could he change someone he - it was Damon, turning someone who could be dangerous probably seemed like an amusing idea.

Addie decided it was just best not to acknowledge his rant and further informed, "Apparently Isobel wants to take Elena to a safe house where the deed is in her name and to help her. Thankfully my sister seems smart enough not to believe her."

A clicking sound issued from Damon's mouth as he thought for a few moments. The Gilbert house wasn't safe from Isobel. The obvious remedy was to kill her but if he had to bet, John and Katherine would make that difficult; plus, Isobel was smart on her own. He wouldn't necessarily be able to have it done by tonight. Addie would just have to stay with him, whether she liked it or not, until he could. Admittedly Elena was in more danger - she should probably stay at the house too - but he wasn't going to let Addie be used as some pawn again. The boardhouse would be their safe house, except he or Stephan would always have to be there. The house wasn't _truly_ safe as any vampire, including Isobel, could walk in.

"It's smart," he admitted, muttering to himself.

Addie snorted, "It's obvious, Damon."

He glanced at her slightly defensive, "If it was _that_ obvious I would have thought of it back when the tomb vampires were around."

"I think the relationship roles have reversed," Addie frowned. "I'm not following you for a change."

Damon shook his head; he'd have this argument with her later when Stefan and Elena were around to pressure into her agreeing with him. "I was talking to myself."

"Rrrrrright. Well, as we're already on the subject of the supernatural nasty, I need to know if you have _any_, and I mean _any_, possible ideas as to where the witch massacre was. Bonnie needs to channel the energy. Dr. Martin told her how to kill Klaus," she said, finally voicing what she'd been needing to ask since the previous night.

The jerk on the steering wheel was so sharp as Damon's head snapped towards Addie's, his face a mask of shock and disbelief, that they veered into the lane of oncoming traffic. "Road!" she cried, pointing out the windshield

"What?!" Damon demanded, quickly correcting the car. Thankfully it was a deserted country road they traveled. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Addie's hands flew up in a gesture of innocence, "I tried! You were all 'blah, blah, don't care' and insisting on a break."

"Not when you know how to kill Klaus! You tell me when you have a way to get rid of the enemy!" he snapped back.

"Damn it, Damon! You're almost as moody as me. How the hell am I supposed to know when to keep pushing because you'll be happy or to stop because you're going to become pissed off? Last night seemed like pushing would lead to making you angry. I _tried _to tell you," Addie countered indignantly.

Damon rolled his eyes; she was being overly dramatic today. There were times when he forgot he was dating someone still emotionally maturing... not that he would ever claim to having reached full adult status, nor would he ever. "I wasn't lying when I told you I don't know where it is. Since the start I've had five _possible_ locations in mind but there was no solid reason to believe in anyone one of them. Most of them are places from when I was a kid. One is a large, circular clearing in the woods with one lone oak tree in the center. Three are places that were rumored to be haunted and everyone would make up ghost stories about them or go in the buildings to prove how tough they were. The last is the tomb; I put a little more weight on that because of how much power it took to drop the wards and such. I thought maybe a bunch of witch mojo was anti-vampire. Then based on the fact that Katherine strolled right out after Elijah was daggered, I figured Martin had the power to drop the wards for good. Either Martin was really strong or Judgey's grams was really weak considering it killed her and she needed the help of Bonnie the Teenage Witch."

Addie punched him in the bicep with much more force than she normally would. It probably hurt her fist more than him. "Don't bad mouth Grams. You and your sick obsession with Katherine are the whole reason she was forced into doing that. It's your fault she's gone so just shut up."

"Did hitting me make you feel any better?" Damon asked after several minutes of silence.

It made her feel guilty. Even if she hadn't hurt him, she'd sort of wanted to. Addie knew violence wasn't the answer; that it never solved anything. She just crossed her arms and sulked.

"I didn't think so," he muttered. "I wasn't blowing you off for the journal earlier today, you know, right before I showed it to Stefan? Jonathan Gilbert wrote about a place that Emily took him full of mystical energy. It had a basement. One of the three haunted sites had a cellar. I honestly don't remember the stories that went with the place but once I showed Stefan what Jonathan wrote, he thought of the same place. I can't guarantee it's where the massacre happened, all I can do is give you my best guess."

Already composing a text to Bonnie, she asked, "Do you remember where it is?"

Damon nodded, "More or less. I mean, I'd say within a half-mile radius."

"Would you be willing to show Bonnie?"

"If she could use it to kill Klaus I'd give her my car."

"I took that as a yes, considering your intense love affair with this thing," scoffed Addie, dropping her phone back into her lap.

"I _have_ put more work into her than I have any relationship," Damon admitted.

Picking up her vibrating phone, Addie peered at him from the corner of her eye, "Encouraging."

He shrugged, grinning cheekily, "It should be. Shows I've been committed to something since '69."

"To something that can't hurt you or return your feelings. Ah, the Martins' place is on the way back to your house?"

Damon's lips pressed into a hard line and then pursed, "Yeah but nobody's home. Why?"

"Could you drop me off there? Bonnie wants to grab the grimoire that has the spell with how to kill Klaus. And seeing as she kinda had a thing for Luka, I think it best if she not do that alone because you're not really right. A _body's_ home, according to your brother," explained Addie. Hesitantly, she added, "You might want to clean up your messes before the questions start."

While she was right, he figured her obvious disapproval of what he had done should be aggravated, as he didn't appreciate her judging mood. He scoffed, "I torched an invisible spirit that astrally projected into my house. The witch boy, extra crispy, is at his own home home, not in my house. The only thing little evidence that might have been left over from the event at home is some charring to Mr. Original." Addie didn't need to know that Damon had tried to burn away Elijah's body so he could get the stake back and use it on Klaus.

"Do you really have that little regard for human life?" she mumbled, not really wanting to know the answer.

"I didn't mean to kill the kid. Some witchy ghost thing was trying to undagger Elijah. I know you're all for that plan but we have to do it _smart_," Damon emphasized, his head slightly shaking as he still couldn't help but think the whole idea of trusting Elijah was stupid. There was no way he was letting Addie take that metal stake from his heart. "He's not gonna stop and ask questions once he's restored; he's gonna rip hearts out. We need to have him restrained first and it's apparently going to take more than chains strong enough to hold down a werewolf. _He would have killed you._ I had no choice but to stop whatever was happening. I didn't know it was literally Luka and one blast _probably _would have stop him. All I say was that the invisible thing was now on fire and it was still in the house and still moving. Whatever magic going on hadn't stopped. Logic said it could still grab the dagger. _You_ were there when I got the call from Stefan that Martin had gone stark raving mad because his son was dead. Did it look like I knew what I had done?"

Addie scowled down at her black Converse. Her toe flexed and the rubber, white rim slightly pulled away from the cloth. She'd needed a new pair for over a year but sentimental attachment to her first pair of Converse had kept her from getting them. She reminded him bitterly, "Luka wasn't the only one who died yesterday."

"You can't blame me for that. Katherine killed him."

"Your were the one who proposed the solution to dealing with him was death!"

"He was torching the grill and going after your sister. Dr. Martin had lost his mind! That and being really powerful do not make for a good cocktail."

Her brows furrowed in a mixture of bewilderment and disgust. "How can you even make jokes? _You_ just killed his son. Don't you think you'd have gone on a much bloodier rampage?"

Damon's eyes drifted from the road to focus on her; his face was blank except for one coolly lifted eyebrow. Dryly he retorted, "You wanna rethink that question or should I just start laughing?"

The tips of Addie's fingers pushed at his jaw and made him face the road again as she muttered, "I hate you."

His fingers caught hers again and he rested their hands just above the knee. He knew she didn't mean it; she was upset with him but nothing more. Addie leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder. He rubbed small circles with his thumb on the back of her hand and quickly kissed her forehead. Lightly he joked, "Done being grumpy?"

"No," answered Addie in a sullen voice.

Damon chuckled and continued to press her, "Someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"Maybe. I probably should have gotten more sleep last night."

He snorted, "If you hadn't-"

"Shut up," she growled.

"One thing and I'll be quiet. You give me grief over killing the bad guys and trying to protect you but you're all hugs and kisses and concerned when I kill someone innocent," Damon insisted on bringing this little fact to her attention. She was getting upset over the wrong things. "You realize that is pure nonsense? It's even more ridiculous than your usual Addie logic."

Addie pulled away from him, laughing humorlessly, "'If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?'"

"I _don't_ see," he replied slowly. "I do sense you've gone mad, however."

"It's from one of my favorite childhood stories, _Alice In Wonderland_. Ever since Bonnie decided she was a witch and my sister insisted on dating a vampire I've felt like I've been sucked down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Then I tangle myself up with _you_," she giggled, trying to hold back the hysterical laughter, "and that's just pure _nonsense_. How can it be a relationship if you plan from the beginning for it to end? Doesn't that change the way you approach the whole thing, making it _not_ a relationship? Pardon the poor grammar but to follow the flow of my nonsense, what is you killing Jessica Koenig, isn't you being cruel or evil like it should be but it was what you wouldn't think it would be: you seeking comfort. Killing the Martins wouldn't be cold and _bad_ if it was really about you just trying to protect my but it's _not_. It's what it looks like, awful and wrong, which bothers me."

Damon groaned slowly, trying to sort out, rearrange, and put back together the _nonsense_ his girlfriend spewed. Admittedly he wasn't going to let himself love Addie like he had Katherine; not because he'd been duped and played for a fool but because she was sort of right. There was no chance of forever; he wasn't going to let all his walls down just to have his soul crushed when it end, again. That didn't make how he felt about her any less real. Damon shook his head slightly; she'd always find something to fret over regarding the idea of a relationship. The rest of her little riddle was more difficult to figure out. She knew he killed that girl because he was upset, damned if he knew how but she knew. How she knew he killed her for the familiar feeling of fresh blood, the power, the rush, the control over life and death, Damon wasn't sure he wanted to dwell on how she had figured it out. He addressed the only part left with a mild annoyance, "Why would you think I'd kill them for any other reason than trying to protect you?"

"Yeah," Addie scoffed, "you daggered Elijah for the same reason. Have you noticed the most dangerous person is still walking around?"

"I already told you I'm going to take care of Isobel!"

Addie's shock faced turned so much that her head was almost parallel with the car floorboard. "Are you _still_ that deluded?! Katherine, you idiot! She's been a deadly force since she flew into town on her broomstick."

"I haven't killed her because you don't want me to kill her! I know she's dangerous but you think she's useful." he argued.

"I didn't want you to kill or dagger a lot of people you deemed dangerous that I thought were useful! What makes Katherine so special when she's proven to be the most untrustworthy and clearly has no problem with someone dying as long as she benefits! Thanks to her and your own stupidity that dagger nearly killed you!" Addie shot back heatedly.

"I tried to kill her but _you_ got in the way!"

Her mouth hung open for a few seconds, not believing that was his best defense. "She was linked to Elena! You would have killed my sister! When the link was broken you could have _but_ you put her in the tomb. A little payback, understandable. Of course, you could have killed her anytime before she was linked or any time since she's been out of the tomb but have you? No! Katherine's still the femme fatale most likely destined to play us all into death!"

Damon snorted and let out a long, low whistle, "Wow. Jealously looks really bad on you, Ads. You're seriously jealous of Katherine?"

"You're stopping everyone else who's dangerous. Why does she get a pass?" challenged Addie, her arms crossed defensively.

"It...I...It's _Katherine_," he sighed, grabbing at the back of his hair.

"So you admit you still have feelings for her."

He shrugged slightly, "No! Well, I mean, like a tiny pinprick of my heart will always belong to Katherine. She was the first girl I loved. Look, if she was an _active_ threat, if she was directly coming at you, if she even thought of trying to hurt you I'd have no hesitation about killing her. I hate her and I have a bad feeling about why she's around but I need more than that to kill her."

Addie nodded and gazed out the window. Logic dictated that he must still have some lingering feelings for the fellow vampire. She'd been curious if he would admit to it. His hand squeezed at her knee and, distantly, she heard him say, "Katherine's my past. You are my very real and desired present."

* * *

The sight of Jeremy sitting on the steps to the Martins' apartment building surprised Addie, especially as there was no Bonnie in sight. Her brother beamed at her as she walked the short distance from where Damon parked down the block.

"Hey!" he greeted brightly, standing and brushing himself off.

Addie hugged her brother; she didn't realize how much she had missed him. She'd been so preoccupied with Damon since Katherine returned that her and Jeremy had only shared brief exchanges in the halls and notes back and forth in biology catching each other up on the latest developments in the Klaus situation. Mostly the writings were a battle to see who could create the wittiest remark on the lack of progress. "Jer-bear! I've missed you!"

Jeremy blushed at the nickname and pulled away. "Yeah, well, you're never home. You no longer hold first place on Need for Speed."

"I haven't really been in the mood to deal with John," Addie admitted, slipping past the real reason she had been staying at the boardinghouse.

"He, uh, yeah," his eyes flashed towards Damon, "he's not happy with you. If the lecture he gave _me_ about allowing y-"

A solitary came up and combined with her terse look, it was enough to shut her brother up. "John is aware that you have absolutely no - actually, you know what, I'm not getting on that train. I thought I was meeting Bonnie; where is she?"

"Inside," Jeremy indicated, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"Then why are you _outside,_" Addie inquired, pointing down at the ground.

"I was waiting for you."

"Well, why are we talking instead of joining Bonnie?"

Jeremy held open the door to the apartments and retorted to his sister's sass, "Because you have a big mouth."

Addie glared back at him, entering the building; she didn't have a decent comeback at that moment. It was just best to prove Jeremy wrong and give him the silent treatment. She wasn't exactly sure which apartment belonged to the Martins but knew it was on the second floor. Heavy footfalls as she ascended the steps told her Jeremy was following but she could barely hear Damon's. Was that a stealthy vampire thing or was it just a Damon thing?

The stairway met a dead end but it was possible to turn left or right around a corner to undoubtedly pass more apartments. Addie was right handed. Right was the word _right_. It was all solid evidence that she should go right. A gloating smile tugged at her lips as she saw Bonnie leaning against the wall halfway down the corridor. She had been right, thus no ribbing or jabes from Jeremy or Damon.

"What's up, Bon?" Addie asked cooly, slightly troubled by the concerned, pained look on her best friend's face.

The witch shook her head in slight despair, "I've tried every spell I can think of but the door won't budge it's spelled shut."

"My guess," Damon interrupted, putting himself between the girls and the door, "is that your magic isn't working because either some occupant isn't dead so the wards are still holding. Or," he gave them a sly grin as twisted the doorknob with a loud cracking of wood, "you just haven't tried good old fashioned brute force." The door swung open with one push of his finger. He mumbled something along the lines of, "Girls always insisting on complicating simple matters."

Glowering, Addie pushed Damon in the center of the back, the shock unbalancing him slightly and making him step over the threshold. Bonnie eyed Damon warily while Jeremy watch his little sister protectively, keeping a close watch on the vampire through his peripheral vision. Addie may have been with Damon but that didn't mean he wasn't still a prideful bastard with a temper.

Jeremy and Bonnie were the people Addie was closest to. Damon wasn't sure how influential their opinion of him and their relationship would be on her; so far it had proven minimal but he wasn't sure how long that would last. It was probably wisest that he not intentionally do anything to earn their disapproval. He still had his pride though. Damon glared at Addie, scowling, "That was quite unnecessary. You're not nice."

"I was simplifying things," Addie shrugged, giving him a wide, innocent look. "Easiest way to figure out if Bonnie couldn't get the wards down because of someone living was to see if you could enter. Girl's don't always make things complicated."

Damon rolled his eyes, "You're a very bad liar. Now, everyone get _in_. Only idiots stand around an open doorway where a passerby could see a dead body."

Bonnie was the first to brush past the vampire, noting all the books as she entered, "We should pack up the grimoires. They spent years collecting them. I wanna make sure they're safe."

Addie hunched over the doorknob, trying to get the door to latch close. With the way Damon had broken it, it didn't seem to be working, She felt a hand on her shoulder, pulling her away from the door. Looking back, Addie saw Damon shaking his head slightly. "Don't worry about it," he muttered. "We won't be here long enough. Plus, it's useless."

He squeezed Addie's shoulder reassuringly, sensing an air of anxiety about her. She brushed his hand off with a cold look. Understandably, she was probably concerned about being caught. A lock pick would have been just as effective and wouldn't have left signs of a forced entry but there was the time it took to use one in which someone could have passed by and caught them. Addie probably wouldn't appreciate any arguments about breaking and entering.

Damon walked away from her and further into the apartment, looking down at the charred corpse. "You know, we could just get another match and cremate him," he pointed out lightly.

"Don't be disrespectful," Bonnie snapped, "not to him."

Moving in closer to Damon, Addie quietly hissed, "Did you just wake up and decide to be more of a dick than usual? Or did you have an extra serving of jackass at breakfast?"

"I simply woke up feeling more…," he inhaled deeply and looked thoughtful as he searched for the right word. When he saw there was no trace of amusement and anger rather than annoyance on Addie face he dropped the act with dramatic resignation.

"What is he even doing here?" Bonnie demanded of the younger girl.

Addie shrugged, "I don't really know. I tend to think one thing but he's usually up to something else. See, I thought he came to," she made an awkward face and waved at Luka's body, "but he seems to have tagged along to be more of an asshole."

"He has excellent hearing and is right here," Damon muttered pulling a blanket over Luka. It was slightly singed; perhaps Dr. Martin had tried to smother the flames with it. "I'll bury him by his father. Happy?"

"No."

Addie's eyes narrowed, "There's still a dead body. What do you think?"

"You know, every time there's a body you get all weird. Have you considered that you may have a problem with death?" he snickered, standing back up and tapping her on the nose.

Scowling, she batted at his hand, "Have you considered that you are far too comfortable with it?"

"Vampire, Ads."

"Dick, Damon."

Addressing Bonnie, Jeremy spoke loud enough to distract the bickering couple, "What exactly are we looking for?"

"According to Luka's dad, one of these contains a spell that'll let me harness the energy that's left behind when a witch dies violently," Bonnie reiterated almost word for word what Dr. Martin had transmitted to her just before dying.

If he was going to bury Luka he'd need to get him out of the building. Damon knelt back down and began rolling the body in the blanket; he could exactly just carry out a corpse. He spared a curious glance up at Bonnie, "I had no idea you and papa witch were so close."

"We weren't," she retorted sharply, "but when he gave me my powers back, he gave me a message. If I can find the spot in town where the old Salem witches were burned, I can harness their energy to use when I need it."

"Great," Damon said less than enthusiastically. The look he gave Addie was a cross between weariness and annoyance. "I'm guessing you want me to help harness ancient dead-witch power before we can escape from Wonderland, Alice?"

Bonnie dark brown eyes flashed back and forth between the frustrated vampire and her guilty, apologetic looking best friend. "What?" she asked in confusion, interrupting their silent communication. "Do you know where the witches were burned?"

Seeing the look in Damon's eye, she could see he was about to make a smart comment. Quickly, Addie replied, "I _did_ tell you I thought he could help."

"Well, you never got back to me or even explained how he could that I kind of just figured it was an excuse to…" Bonnie trailed off, shrugging slightly.

Addie rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't just make something like that up to blow you off to go hangout with Damon. He's not _that _interesting."

With a smirk, the vampire cleared his throat, "I'd find that you'd disagree with yourself if you'd recollect-"

"You're not going to finish that statement if you expect tonight to happen," Addie threatened, abruptly cutting him off.

Jeremy dropped the book he had been looking at onto the table and slammed his hands over his ears. "I'm not hearing this! I do not want to know about your sex life."

The worn leather of the thick grimoire was warm in Addie's hands as she snatched it from the table on impulse. A sharp sting radiated through Jeremy's arm as Addie's blow with the book landed right on his bicep. He tried to turn away, block her swings, and knock the spellbook out of Addie's hand as she whacked him with each carefully enunciated word, "I'm not sleeping with him."

"Whatever you say! Just stop hitting me," he snapped, finally getting a grip on the book and yanking it out of his sister's hands.

Hearing the disbelief still in Jeremy's voice, Addie grabbed him by the ear and dragged him down to face level despite his protesting cries of pain. "Do not," she growled lowly, "confuse me with your other sister _or_ yourself. I've heard of a little thing called discretion. When I _do_ have a sex life, I'll give you the courtesy of not knowing. A bedroom between you and Elena is mentally scarring!"

Damon debated on interceding between the squabbling siblings when Jeremy broke away and began to defend himself, his face red in embarrassment. He decided he wasn't that interested and Addie could hold her own when she hit Jeremy with the book again when he said something about some rules where one hit was allowed for him being an idiot but Jeremy got a free hit back for each additional time Addie had hit him. So he had to dig a grave, check with Stefan on exactly what they needed to do to make the house vampire proof, start that process, and take Bonnie out to go play with witch spirits. It didn't seem like he was gonna get out of town with Addie around three like he hoped. Wondering, he tilted his head towards Bonnie and implored, "I don't suppose papa witch told you which book we need; that would save me far too much time."

"If spending such an extended length of time with you wouldn't drive me insane, I'd take the time searching through every grimoire just to torture you," sneered Bonnie, concentrating on the bookshelves.

"You know, I _don't_ remember where the massacre site is."

Bonnie could feel the spell calling to her; there was a tingling, tugging sensation behind the center of her chest pulling her to the fifth shelf against the wall. She put her hands up, trying to further localize the feeling. "You do and you'll take me," she muttered certainly.

An eyebrow arched in surprise at her tone. "Will I?" Damon challenged.

"Yes," the witch nodded, closing her eyes. "You'll do it for Addie. You'd do a lot of things for her."

"You don't know that."

"I do. The way you act around her - it's obvious. Plus, if you are always such a jerk, your actions have to make up for your words. Now, shut up; you're ruining my concentration."

"And Thing 1 and Thing 2 aren't?" scoffed Damon, referring to Jeremy and Addie, who had came around to arguing whether it was worse having a room next to Elena or next to Jenna. In Damon's opinion, Jeremy did have a very strong point about Addie at least having a bathroom between her and her sister. Though, he did have an entire floor between him and Stefan and the couple still proved to be very loud and annoying.

Bonnie chose to ignore the vampire and focus on locating the spell that would allow her to harness the energy at the massacre site. Her hands began to tingle, feeling herself drawn to the left. When all the grimoires flew off the shelf, Bonnie gasped lightly in surprised. She'd thought she would be able to locate the needed volume. At her feet lay the only open spellbook. Carefully, she picked up it up, the binding threatening to fall away from the old pages. "It's this one."

Damon's eyes flashed to Addie, noting the silence that had fallen with the books. She was slack jawed with shock but fine, not knocked unconscious by a grimoire or Jeremy as he briefly, irrationally feared. "Great," he huffed, lifting the blanket wrapped body over his shoulder. "Grab the rest and let's go."

"Like that?" asked Addie in disbelief, her voice coming out higher than usual. "Why even bother wrapping him up!"

"We'll be fast. No one's going to notice."

Addie shook her head, "People tend to notice when you carry a corpse."

"Ok, I'll drag him behind me. That seem less obvious to you?" Damon quipped back sarcastically. "You wanted me to take care of it. How else did you think I was gonna get the body out? Stuff him in a suitcase?"

"It's broad daylight, Damon!"

Waggling his eyebrows, he held up his hand and flashed his ring, "I know. It's sweet of you to worry about my safety but I've got this knifty -"

"I'm being serious! We're gonna get caught! Reminder: you're burying so we _don't_ get caught!"

"You're being paranoid. Do you think I'd do _anything_ with you around if I thought there was the slightest possibility you would get in trouble?"

Addie's deep blue eyes were wide as she pointed accusingly from the door not properly in place to the body on his shoulder, "Breaking and entering. Murder."

"Hold up! You and Ms. Morality were gonna break in even before I got involved," Damon objected defensively. "Just because I opened the door doesn't mean you get to pin that on me. I'm here to _protect_ you; at least I can compel someone to forget what they saw if you get caught."

"No one wou-"

Bonnie couldn't help but notice that, despite snapping at each other, their was a sense of resolution that they didn't have when not interacting. It had been clear that Addie was anxious; when not attacking Jeremy, her hands had been running through her hair incessantly. Though the idea of carrying out a body had initially seemed to send a spike in her nerves, Addie quickly became much less jittery and rather more argumentative, as was her nature, than upset. Damon Bonnie was able to read as well as her best friend but there was a visible shift in the way that he held himself when he talked to Addie as opposed to her; he wasn't as rigid and stern. It was as if fighting was comfortable for them. She couldn't help but wonder, "Do you two always argue?"

"No."

"Pretty much."

"Oh, honestly, compared to the way you are with some people, we get along so well I could almost get a cavity from the sweetness," Damon scoffed.

Addie looked at him incredulously, "We do not! We're like rubbing sandpaper together."

"We are not that bad."

"We've fought like ten times this morning."

"It's crossed over into afternoon," Damon corrected. "Really, we've only bickered and it's been because you've been in a bad mood."

How could he blame her when he had been acting odd the past day and a half? Addie objected indignantly, "Me?! You're the one who woke up with half of a new personality. Or an old one."

Jeremy scratched at a furrowed eyebrow feeling baffled, "I don't understand how or why you two are together."

A heavy silence fell as Addie looked between her brother and Damon. The vampire shook his head and shrugged his free shoulder when she raised her eyebrows at him, searching for an answer. She glowered at him before turning back to Jeremy. Her tone was hard and clipped, not wanting him to ask anything else, "That is a very complex and confusing subject matter that no rational person will ever be able to figure out, therefore I do not expect you to comprehend what I cannot. If you insist on knowing, talk to the _irrational_ vampire as he can surely make logic out of nonsense."

"I know I should find that insulting but I do spend so much of my time trying to make sense out of Addie logic, or nonsense, that I am irrationally not bothered by it," Damon said over his shoulder as he headed for the door. He had thought they reached a point where they were both on the same page about their relationship and understood what they were in relation to each other but then she had made it seemed like she still questioned it this morning. As long as they couldn't figure out what the was going on, they definitely didn't need other people inquiring about them.

* * *

Having ideas about what Damon was up to and actually knowing felt like two different things, that's why Addie didn't question what he was up to when he dropped her off at the boardinghouse. She had wanted to go back home with Bonnie and Jeremy but he had insisted she go to where Stefan and Elena were because it was safer. If that was the case, Addie argued, Jeremy and Bonnie should be going back to the Salvatore's too. While Damon had agreed, he pointed out that he couldn't torment the other two with all the potential ways Katherine would try and force herself on him if she wasn't there. Addie still tried to get out of going back to the boardinghouse by pointing out that Damon wouldn't even be there without her as he was off to 'run an errand'. He threatened to skip said errand and to allow Katherine to throw herself at him if Addie didn't agree.

"Manipulative bastard," seethed Addie, locking the door behind her.

"Who is?" Elena asked much too brightly from the living.

Addie eyed the way her sister tried to rearrange her hair and the light shade of red coloring Stefan's cheeks. Gross. Flopping backwards over the armrest on the unoccupied sofa Addie decided she was definitely going to interrupt them. She knew Elena had only been asking to cover that her and Stefan had been making out but it had been awhile since Addie had irked her sister and it had been her own fault for asking. She scoffed, "Who do you think?"

"He just wants to make sure you're ok," Stefan advocated for his brother. Damon had sent him a general text of what was going on and Addie's reluctance to return to the house was mentioned.

"No, he wants to be a controlling dick," pouted Addie, knowing it wasn't true even as she said it. That didn't mean he didn't come across as any less of one.

Elena tilted her head curiously at her sister. She had seen Damon around, of course, and knew, even if she didn't like it, that her sister was sharing his bed. Elena had tried to get Stefan to eavesdrop on them so she could figure out how serious they were but he either wouldn't do it or wouldn't tell her. Still, she noted that she hadn't _really_ seen Damon. He was usually invested in what was going on, or at least very invested in Addie. There didn't seem to be that connection lately. Trouble in paradise? "Where is Damon?"

Addie hesitated and stammered, "He's, uh, well. He went to… Luka had to… You know, I can't confirm that my boyfriend is burying a body because that would have meant asking what he's up to which means possibly knowing that the guy I'm seeing is off digging a grave right now but I really hope that's the case because otherwise he's riding around with a corpse." She covered her face with a throw pillow, her next words muffled and barely audible, "There are so many things wrong with that statement. My life's so screwed up to the point where I'm not even freaking out over that."

"He did go to bury Luka," Stefan confirmed.

Throwing herself onto the couch hadn't been the wisest decision, Addie concluded, shifting uncomfortably. Landing on her backside had sent the shooting pain through her back of her thigh and down her knee again. "Reassuring," she mumbled through the pain, though she doubt they could even hear her past the pillow covering her face. Moving only seemed to increase the pain but when she had eventually contorted herself so she was essentially laying on her side, it started to subside. She was vaguely aware of Stefan and Elena discussing something about John. Isobel's name floated in. Addie wasn't particularly interested in discussing more vampires. The combination of warm sun filtering in through the windows, too little sleep the previous night, and the track meet, she was left feeling a little drowsy, drifting in and out of consciousness.

"Do you really think that Isobel's telling the truth that word's gotten out about the doppelganger?" Addie registered her sister asking nervously.

The sun glowed against the thin skin of her eyelids. What had happened to her pillow? Reflexively Addie turned away and inhaled the familiar scent of ginger, cloves, and sandalwood. Did Damon just spray his cologne on everything in the house?

"Look, I don't trust a word that she says, but I think we'd be stupid to ignore the warning."

Good; Stefan was playing the voice of reason. She could go back to sleep instead of pointing out how stupid her sister was to dismiss a warning, even if it came from a highly untrustworthy source. Addie felt fingertips brush against her cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and stiffened. Hadn't she laid down with her head flat and not propped up on something?

"You know, you two should just stay here. It's better for us to keep an eye on you," Damon reasoned, his voice a little lower than usual.

Recognizing the tough cloth against her cheek as denim, Addie pried a tired eye open just enough to realize she was facing Damon's stomach, her head on his thigh. Addie turned her head and squinted up at him with one eye. "No," she protested, her voice hoarse from sleep.

"Shh," he hushed, placing a finger over her lips, "You're sleeping; sleeping people don't get a say."

"No," she insisted firmer, brushing his hand away.

Meeting her squinting glare, Damon raised a challenging eyebrow, "Yes. It's the best way to protect you guys."

"No."

He frowned, "Is your goal to fight me on everything today?"

"Only if you continue to be an idiot about everything," Addie bit back sharply, closing her eye.

"I am n-"

Not in the mood for a round of Addie and Damon bickering, Stefan interrupted his brother in opposition, a sure way to get his attention. "Addie's right; we'd be stupid to think that staying at the house that _any_ vampire can enter is the best way to protect her and Elena. Their house is safer."

"That's not what I meant."

Damon scowled; he was working on making the house vampire proof. He'd broken into the county recorder's office after burying Luka to get a copy of the deed for the house, a Preliminary Change of Ownership form, and a Gift Deed document but he still had to get the girls to agree to sign the forms and get them notarized. Whether it was the smart move or not, Addie probably wouldn't do it because she seemed like she was trying to be more difficult than usual. "Well, then we'll stay there," he shrugged, quickly regaining a cool composure.

"No," objected Addie. "Nobody's staying with anybody. Stupid plan. Smothering. Suffocating. I need breaks from you people. Be logical; would you try and kill me or would I try and kill you first, Damon? We all have these things called lives and we each should have a separate one."

"Apart from the dramatics, I do have to agree with my sister. Both of us having to be in sight of either one of you at all times? It's a bit over the top," shrugged Elena. She loved Stefan but she did need her personal space. Though, she would get to be around Damon more.

"Too bad. That's the plan until you guys can come up with a better one," Damon replied coolly.

Addie sat up quickly, wincing slightly. "This is stupid. My blood is not wanted for some creepy human sacrifice. I am not a Katherine look-alike that vampires are on the hunt for. I should be excluded from this bodyguard service as my life is in no immediate danger."

"No offense but y_ou're_ stupid if you think you can actually convince Damon you don't need a babysitter," Elena noted, rolling her eyes at Addie's futile efforts.

"Shut up! You're not helping."

Damon snorted, "There's no case or cause to help. Elena's right; I'm not changing my mind. You've already been kidnapped and used as bait once."

"If you're worried about someone being - "

"You seriously want to argue this knowing you're going to lose?" he interrupted, further convinced she was deliberately being difficult. Was she trying to annoy him enough into a real argument?

"Yes," nodded Addie. "I actually have valid, logical points that you should listen to."

Damon's lips pursed and brows furrowed as he pretended to consider this for a moment. He cocked his head towards her and inhaled, "Thing is, I really don't care. I'm concerned with _your_ safety, not logic."

The emphasis he put on her safety was clear to Addie; he'd protect Elena, yes, but protecting her was his main priority. She glared at him, her bottom lip jutting out slightly. Elena was the one he needed to watch.

"Pouting definitely isn't going to make me change my mind."

"I don't like you," grumbled Addie, sulking back into the couch.

"My objective has never been to be liked; it's always to keep you safe."

"Your life would be much easier if you didn't have to turn everything into a fight, Addie," Elena pointed out. "Besides, we don't have time for this. We have to get ready to go to the Lockwood luncheon and accept the Historical Society's check for Mom's foundation."

Addie shook head emphatically, "No. You mean _you_ have to do that. I never answered Jenna's text when she asked if I'd go. No response is a 'no'. Honors such as inheriting the throne or a name or accepting donations at boring, elitist parties are reserved for the first born. Besides, I have to play referee between Bonnie and Damon."

Stefan's lips twitched slightly into a grin, "And who is going to referee you and Damon?"

"Meh, eventually one of us wins or the other gives up. We tend to moderate ourselves fairly decently," Addie shrugged.

Damon frowned, not entirely sure what she was talking about. Their snipping and snapping generally didn't get too excessive when they were alone. When they were around other people though, it seemed like that was all they did. Or least that was how that day felt.

Elena curiously tilted her head towards Damon. He and Bonnie were friends by no means, as her sister had pointed out. "Does that mean you're taking her to the-"

A finger shot over his lips and he shushed her, much like he had done Addie.

Seeing Katherine walk in, Addie unconsciously scooted closer to Damon. He draped an arm around her shoulders, lightly brushing at the bare skin between her sleeve and elbow. Admitting part of him would always care about Katherine was probably not the wisest decision, Damon concluded retrospectively.

"Don't get quiet on my account. If you have a plan to combat the impending vampire doom, please do tell," Katherine remarked smartly, crossing her arms.

Out of the corner of his eye, Damon could see Addie looking up at him. She was the one with Bonnie the Teenage Witch, who was supposed to kill Klaus. She also was the one who wanted to keep Katherine around because she believed her to have useful information. Damon raised an eyebrow and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. It was her call.

"The fewer people who know the details the better," Addie reasoned diplomatically.

Katherine glared at her, "I deserve to know. What's the plan to get us out of this mess, hmm? If you even have one."

Addie nodded slowly and in Damon's opinion, lied quite convincingly, "We have one but only two people in this room are aware of what it is. The other two are following orders on blind faith. You might remember that Klaus is an Original and as such, he can compel vampires. The fewer people he can get the plan from, the better."

"Well you can't be using the original plan. I delivered you a moonstone, a werewolf, and the dagger to lure and kill Klaus, and right now all you have is a moonstone. Or so you tell me."

"We have it," dismissed Addie, not liking Katherine's obsession with that stupid rock. "But you kinda delivered a werewolf hellbent on killing Stefan and Damon, so he had to be taken out. And you encouraged Damon to use the dagger on Elijah, nearly getting him killed. You knew once we daggered Elijah we'd have to keep him that way and couldn't use it on Klaus. Besides, you came to Mystic Falls dagger free. You can try and lie and manipulate and play everyone like puppets but please don't insult my intelligence. The only reason you care about Klaus dying is because if we're not successful, he's still hunting you. You never had any intention of killing him so don't act like you had some _plan_. If you hadn't ended up in that tomb you would have called Klaus here and traded Elena, Caroline, Tyler, and that stupid rock for your freedom. Don't mistake the fact that I haven't let Damon set you on fire in your sleep for trust. Just as I can tell when you're not my sister, I can read through you right now. I strongly advise against whatever you are up to."

Katherine and Addie stared off in a death match; the vampire eventually snapped, giving a chilly response, "I'm not up to anything but fine. Everyone seems to be following the lead of a _child_. I'm sure that's going to end well."

"How _do _you tell her apart from Elena when she impersonates her?" Damon inquired as he watched Katherine turn on one heel and exit the room. "And what is she up to?"

Addie chewed at her lip thought thoughtfully. How did she explain to him, Stefan, and Elena that she just got a _dark_ vibe from Katherine? It was the same feeling that she got when she first met Stefan and Damon. The sensation from Stefan had mostly dissipated when she had found out about him being a vampire and completely vanished when she learned of his problem with human blood. The darkness from Damon, she couldn't pinpoint when but it had mostly vanished over time, though he still had like a hazy mist about him, Addie knew it sounded insane; she didn't expect them to understand it. Elijah never had the darkness and that was why she trusted him. It wasn't a certain thing but she felt the bad vibe was related to secrecy and deception. When she had sort of worked with Katherine but sort of worked with Damon, they both had a grayish vibe; not entirely lying but not fully telling the truth. When Katherine first came out of the tomb, Addie had a difficult time getting a read on her; the her darkness ranged from just a light gray mist to a storm cloud. When she had just walked into the room, though, Katherine was emitting a powerful darkness. Something in her had changed.

"I don't know what she's up to," Addie muttered, thinking to herself.

Damon frowned, pulling his ringing phone from his back pocket. His frown turned into a scowl as he read the new text. "Well, we should probably add figuring that out to the list of things to do. You ready to go? She's ready to meet up whenever we are."

Knowing Damon was referring to Bonnie, just in case Katherine was listening, she nodded. "Yeah, I just need to grab my jacket."

"I'll get it," Damon offered. "I'm faster."

"I don't know which one I want."

"So it's going to take you twenty minutes."

"_No_," she sneered back at his smart tone, "it will take two minutes at most. I'll meet you at the door."

Addie rushed up the stairs and into Damon's room. She completely bypassed the closet and headed straight for the bathroom. The dark vibe from Katherine and the way she had mentioned the moonstone again left Addie uneasy. Digging through the decorative box of polished rocks, she found the stone at the bottom and took it. Elena and Stefan were going to be gone, leaving Katherine alone in the house; she wasn't past snooping. Addie wandered over to Damon's closet and looked at the couple of jackets that had ended up at his house. None of them were good enough to really hide a moonstone in. She glanced at Damon's. Most of his favorites were downstairs in the hall closet; he _probably _wouldn't mind her borrowing one. She'd never actually seen him wear the navy one she selected with lots of zippers. It was a little too heavy for this time of year and it was much too large; she had to roll the sleeves back three times just to use her hands. In one of the inner pockets she placed the moonstone.

The keys lazily spun around Damon's finger but he easily caught them in his hand when Addie came to a stop in front of him, as he was blocking the door. "First you steal my boxers and rotate between my shirts for sleep and now you take my jacket? Do you plan on making my wardrobe yours? I must admit, I find yours much more flattering on you," he remarked dryly, eyeing her up and down, trying to figure out exactly why she was in his jacket.

"You gave me the boxers and shirts; it's your right to revoke my access to them any time. Se-"

Damon shook his head, interrupting her, "I wouldn't do that. I find those parts of my wardrobe particularly appealing on you."

Addie blushed, slightly pushing at his shoulder. She carried on as if he hadn't interrupted, "Secondly, I'm only borrowing your jacket for a few hours. If it bothers you I understand and will put it back."

"Hmmm," he pretended to consider, tapping at his chin thoughtfully. "Why _my_ jacket?"

"Shouldn't we get going?" she asked in an attempt at a topic change. "Don't we have places to be, people to meet?"

"Yes, yes, fine," he grumbled, holding open the door for her. Damon followed her out, still perplexed, and vamped to the passenger side door, unlocking and holding that open for her as well.

"Haven't we discussed that I _am_ capable of handling doors?" Addie asked lightly as Damon slid into the passenger seat.

His lips pursed and brows furrowed as if trying to recall, "Probably about four or five times. I _know_ you're capable of a lot more than I tend to give you credit for. Equally as many times I've maintained my beliefs in chivalry. One of the things I like about you is that you are independent and don't expect to be waited on hand and foot. I do what I do because I care about you. Though I'm refusing to actually go anywhere until you 'fess up as to why you're wearing my jacket is out of pure, selfish motivation."

The guy could be so headstrong. She rolled her eyes and came up with a quick lie; it made her sound like an idiot but hopefully he would but it. "It smells like you and it's always kind of like you're holding me because it's so comfortable."

He nodded, seeming to find this an acceptable answer, and started the car.

* * *

The leaves and twigs snapped under foot as Damon, Bonnie, Jeremy, and Addie stomped their way through the woods. They'd been walking for about half an hour and Addie was becoming less confident in Damon's remembrance of the massacre site to within half a mile. She was about to make a comment on this when Jeremy spoke up.

"So this massacre site is where Emily Bennett was killed, too?" he asked, holding a branch out of the way for his sister and Bonnie to pass.

Damon nodded, not turning back from following the overgrown path in front of him. If he looked away, it was highly likely that he wouldn't find it again. The trail hadn't been used in nearly 150 years. "Founders thought it was poetic burning her where the other witches burned."

Addie loved how he didn't mention that he wasn't completely certain they were even going to the right place.

As if Bonnie could read the knowing smirk on Addie's face she asked,"How do you know where the witches were burned?"

_That is an excellent point, Bonnie. How will Damon explain away this one?_

"A simple deduction of logic. Emily was burned where the witches were burned.I must have been at the massacre sight when I tried to save her. Emily was just my key to getting Katherine back before I knew what a nasty little bitch Katherine was."

While Jeremy laughed, they came in front of a large, abandoned, run-down house. Addie couldn't help but notice how different the story he told them was from the one she told him where he read something Jonathan Gilbert wrote about a place with a mystical energies and haunted stories from his childhood. Where did the truth lie? The house didn't look like a thing of ghost stories. As much as she liked to think she understood Damon, Addie had to admit there were still large parts about him that were confusing.

As they approached the dilapidated house Addie was grateful her brother asked what she couldn't find the words for. ."You sure it's the right place?" Jeremy prodded, as they were just in front of the door.

Damon nodded, quietly entering the house and the rest following suit. Paint barely remained on the walls, if at all. Cobwebs littered every corner and doorframe. The floorboards creaked in protest of their weight. A particular one snapped under Jeremy's foot, causing him to lose his balance but at the sound of the break, Addie was already at her brother's side, trying to restabilize him. He nodded in thanks when he found his footing again.

Over his shoulder, Damon had given a look that clearly said he couldn't believe Jeremy was stupid enough to break the floor and lose his balance. The teen huffed slightly, looking towards his sister for help, "Dude, come on," Addie scowled, already glaring at Damon. It was old wood that hadn't been kept up with for almost 150 years! It was no wonder as to why the board broke. She sure as hell wasn't going up the rickety looking flight of stairs if he had any crazy notions of that idea. Damon, as if reading her mind, smirked and turned back, wandering further into the house.

Some old window pains grabbed Damon's attention but there turned out to be nothing interesting behind them. When he turned back around he grunted, finding he couldn't move. He laughed humorlessly and glared at Bonnie, "Whatever witchy prank you're playing, don't. It's not funny."

"I'm not doing anything," the witch replied, slightly defensive.

"You _are._ I can't move."

Wondering if they really had found the site of the massacre, Addie snickered, "Or a bunch of dead witches are punishing you for being a dick to my brother. Though, it could be because you're just one in general."

Addie thought it less amusing when Damon's skin began to sizzle and crack, turning bright red. The pain in his voice made her wince, wishing she could do something, "Oh, my ring's not working. Do something."

Bonnie contemplated this for a moment before seeing the pleading, fearful gaze from Addie. Why did her best friend have to like the bad guy? How did she get drafted to always save his life. Still, she concentrated on him moving and closed her eyes. It was obvious it worked when Damon quieted slightly and she felt a small shock through her torso and limbs. Very unapologetic, she smiled at Damon who had retreated to the shade. Addie's probably right. I don't think the witches like you being here."

"I guess this is the right place," Jeremy chuckled, looked around.

Damon nodded and slightly pointed towards the door, "I'm gonna go wait outside."

"Is he always such a dick?"

"No," Addie answered her brother slowly, "though he has been more of one than usual." Not wanting to deal with further questions, she wandered off to what was once probably a sitting room. The two sets of footsteps made it clear she was follow. Walking to the center of the room she turned around and spread out her arms, as if displaying some grand masterpiece to them. "How about here? Can we sap up some ancient powers here?"

Bonnie raised an eyebrow at her, "You're gonna be a part of this?"

Addie shrugged, "Why not?"

"Because you're always the one saying you don't want to get involved in this supernatural stuff," Jeremy countered. "I expected you to go wait outside with Damon?"

"Because we're joined at the hip?"

Bonnie shook her head and spoke quietly, quickly seeing how irritated Addie was getting, "No, it's just that we're surprised you want to help or whatever. It's unlike you."

"Yes, well, like I said, Damon's being more of a dick than usual. Judging by the way the door just slammed, I think he's even manage to piss off the dead now. Magic proves to be the lesser evil when compared to his latest attitude adjustment," Addie muttered, sitting cross legged on the floor. "I'm being to think he's just as crazy as me."

Jeremy glanced at Bonnie and nodded, "We already decided that. No offense, sis, but you're a bit of a pain in the ass. It would take someone at least as temperamental as you to tolerate your mood swings after a month and that must be because you're tolerating their irrationality."

"So you decided we work because we're both moody?"

He nodded again.

That was illogical in Addie's mind. "Wouldn't that mean we're both just more likely to get upset or angry at the same time and end things?"

"I predict many, many, many, two or three day break ups," Bonnie laughed, "but you'll wind up back together because there is something in being together that brings out some semblance of balance and sanity."

Addie rolled her eyes, not interested in further discussing the topic, and taunted, "Now, is this _your_ prediction or one of your _psychic _predictions?"

"I'm surprised the witches didn't throw you out with Damon," Bonnie joked. "Jeremy, can you hand me the grimoire?"

He slipped the backpack slung over one shoulder down and pulled out the old, badgered spellbook. Reluctantly, he passed it over to the witch, "Are you sure about this?"

"Are you worried about me?" Bonnie smiled, asking low enough so Addie wouldn't hear.

Jeremy lacked the same tact, "Yeah, of course I am."

Feeling Bonnie's fretful eyes on her as she played solitaire on her phone, Addie waved a dismissive hand. "You guys don't have to pretend like you're not a couple for my benefit. I'm not stupid nor do I particularly have any feelings on the matter as it's none of my business."

"Who - Did Elena tell you?" gaped Bonnie.

Addie shook her head, "No, I'm just not stupid. Since when do my best friend and my brother hang out? Really, I see no rational reason for him being here today. I know you both too well; his crush was as obvious as your hesitation."

"So you're ok with it?" Jeremy asked slowly.

"Yeah jus know if one of you hurts the other, I'm putting friendship or kinship aside and taking revenge. And Jeremy, you know there's nothing I do better than revenge."

Memories of the time she mixed super glue with his lotion resurfaced and his voice went higher, "Duly noted."

"Back to the purpose at hand," Bonnie said, clearing her throat and opening the grimoire.

Jeremy sighed, slightly walking away from the witch; Addie could read the concern in his movements. Echos of voices, mere whispers began to surround them, their words unintelligible. Ghost where not part of the deal she signed up for, Addie thought, shooting into a standing position. Damon's moods were much more preferable than ghost. "Bonnie, what the hell is that?" she demanded, moving in closer to the other two.

"The spirits of the witches who died here. I can feel them," she answered, sounding slightly confused.

Addie pulled Damon's jacket tighter around her, shivering in fear, " They, uh, I'm guessing they aren't like Casper the Friendly Ghost?"

"All right, well what are they saying?" asked Jeremy, much calmer and collected than his sister. He didn't have her same paranoia about ghost. She was rational but when it came to ghost logic went out the window. He had actually been surprised Addie hadn't freaked when they froze Damon or slammed the door.

Bonnie tilt her head slightly, listening carefully. "I can't - can't tell."

"Of course Damon would lead me to the house of horrors," Addie mumbled.

"Ah, great," Jeremy sighed, crossing his arms uncomfortably. When Bonnie walked out of the room and down the hall he quickly picked up his backpack, calling after her, "Where are you going?"

In resignation Addie followed. "Now we're gonna play Ghostbusters! This is great. I'm having a blast."

Bonnie led them into a basement where the voices only got louder. Addie could feel her eyes sting as they fought against the production of tears. This was eerily like the time her family had went to a haunted house at Halloween two years ago and a worker had to escort her out the back way because she got too scared. Except there was no one there to get her out. She understood why the witches didn't want Damon there but Addie automatically disliked them; she would have felt a lot more comfortable with him around. Even if there was no way he could fight something invisible.

"Here," Bonnie answered Jeremy in slight revere. "This is it. Help me set the candles."

Addie watched as her brother pulled out large white candles from his bag and set them in front of the grimoire. What? Where they having a freaking seance now? Next time she was sticking with her plan of avoiding the supernatural as much as possible. To only make things worse, it sounded like some of the voices had begun shrieking. Her own voice did when she demanded, "What the hell are they saying?"

Bonnie closed her eyes in concentration and heard could make out the voices in her head. _Turn back. Turn back. Turn back! You do not want the dangers of this much power._

"What is it?" Jeremy said frantically when her eyes reopened.

She shook her head, easily lighting up all the candles at once. "Nothing. They're ready for it."

Bonnie's dark eyes closed again. Addie and Jeremy both looked around in concern as the whispers turned into yells, though words never became distinguishable. Trembling, Addie wiped at a tear with the sleeve of Damon's jacket; she did not like this.

Jeremy called to Bonnie as she began to cry, saying that she was scaring him but that didn't seem to break her out of her trance. Addie backed into a corner while Jeremy approached closer when she gave a piercing scream. Somehow, whether by Bonnie or the spirits Addie was sure, Jeremy was pushed away from her and against a wall. The young witch screamed louder. Abruptly as the voices started, they stopped and the only sound was the sniffling from Bonnie.

Able to reach Bonnie now, Jeremy rushed to her in concern, "You okay?"

"I did it," she whispered, swaying on her feet.

Jeremy caught her in an embrace, holding her up and reassuring her, "It's okay."

Addie felt her knees give out from under her and sank to the floor. Damon had said there were was no such thing as ghost. She was pretty damn sure she just saw one hundred dead witches possess her best friend at once to transfer their magical energy. It was obviously unpleasant. Addie could accept werewolves and vampires and the like because if it bleeds you can kill it. Not so much with ghost. Were ghost tied to where they died or could they roam around freely? Could they move inanimate objects? Could they possess anyone? This was more terrifying than learning of cannibalistic monsters who survived off of human blood and killed for fun. What was a ghost motivation?

Burying her head in her hands, she could faintly smell ginger, cloves, and sandalwood. Even if he wasn't there to make her feel better, at least she had a small reminded of Damon to help. She wasn't sure how long passed before she felt the warm, familiar hand of her brother on her shoulder.

"You alright?"

Addie realized she had been crying and quickly wiped away the evidence with the jacket. She frowned at her brother and shook her head.

"What's wrong?" he pressed gently, not wanting to upset her but still wanting Addie to know that he was there for her.

Not wanting to directly admit to being scared, she simply shrugged. "There's a reason I stay away from this supernatural stuff. It's not fun or amusing to me."

Jeremy nodded slightly, "If I would have know what it was gonna entail, I would have strongly pushed for you to go wait with Damon. I'm sorry, Ad. Bonnie's waiting outside already. We're ready to go whenever you are."

"Now, duh," she mumbled pushing herself of the dusty floor and lightly brushing off before forcing herself to walk at a quick pace rather than run out of the house.

* * *

Addie wasn't paying attention to exactly what Jeremy and Bonnie were talking about as they walked away from the old witch house and to Bonnie's car. Damon had _left_. She had expected, wanted him to still be waiting. Normally she wouldn't have cared but she was scared and he, ironically, made her feel safer. Addie kept telling herself she didn't need him but that didn't stop her from texting him after only ten minutes of talking.

_Addie: You're a wizard vampire! You made yourself disappear. What's up?_

Leaves began to circle around Addie's ankles and she realized them doing the same around Bonnie and Jeremy. The circles began until the whole area of the forest was a hurricane of leave. Thunder and lightning cracked in the sky as it turned black, enhancing the storm like feeling.

"Bonnie," Jeremy said in awe, lightly touching her arm.

Her eyes opened again and smiled at him, "The answer to your question is a lot."

Feeling her phone vibrate Addie assumed that they must have been discussing how much power Bonnie had drawn from the witches. She checked the new text.

**Damon: Short version? Isobel and Katherine "killed" John at the luncheon and kidnapped Elena. And Katherine tore apart my room to find the moonstone, which she did. **

Without any hesitation or anxiety like she usually had over talking on the phone, Addie called Damon. He picked up on the second ring with a rushed, "Don't freak."

"_Freak?! _Why would I possibly do that? What happened to 24/7 patrolling?" she snapped at him, ignoring the shocked faces of Jeremy and Bonnie. She didn't want to worry them if it was unnecessary but she needed to know what was going on with her sister.

"Isobel made an obvious vampire attack on John. Stefan was trying to do damage control and preventing people from seeing the bite and that he was _dead_. That's hard to explain when someone comes back to life. During that time, Katherine posed as Elena and we're pretty certain Isobel kidnapped her. Katherine is most likely with her as she vervained Stefan as soon as he confronted her on not being Elena. Don't know how you knew it but Katherine was up to something. Top it all off she stole the damn moonstone," Damon quickly explained.

Addie's jaw clenched as she tried not to overreact. She debated telling him about the rock that lay zipped inside his jacket pocket, safe and sound with her. No, she'd only tell him when it was absolutely necessary. Everyone was probably safer from Klaus if it was believed that Katherine had the moonstone. "Tell me you have a plan."

"We did. We figured out where Isobel is staying and we found all her stuff. Only there was no sign of anyone. So, um, right now, we're kind of...," he trailed off, not really wanting to admit to just driving around, looking for any sign. "Look, just meet me back at the house. I'll be home soon."

Her eyes flickered to Bonnie, remembering the way she located Elena the last time she was taken. "Should I bring help?"

Damon hesitated, "Stefan thinks we should wait. They don't have a werewolf nor a spare vampire to hand over to Klaus. It's unlikely that he's going to magically appear tonight."

"It's a waste of time," Addie grumbled. It was obvious when Damon didn't answer that he agreed. An awkward silence of phone conversations she dreaded occurred. She hadn't realized she'd been walking so quickly that she had already made her way back to Bonnie's car. Jeremy and her best friend were still several minutes behind her.

"Hold on. Stefan's getting a call from Elena's phone…. It's her and she's fine. Isobel's dead. She took off her daylight necklace. Elena thinks she was compelled to let her go. She did after receiving a phone call and seemed surprised at the order. And Isobel betrayed Katherine; some 'he' wanted her and the moonstone," Damon relayed the information back to her as Stefan repeated what Elena told him. "I think it's safe to say that's Klaus. She's at the cemetery. We'll pick her up and then be back at the house. Meet me there? We have to talk with Stefan and Elena. Then, if you're still up for it, it's not too late for us to get out of town."

Addie didn't care about the why, she just knew she wanted to feel Damon's arms around her. God, when did she get so _needy_? She nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "Yeah, sure. I'll see if Bonnie is willing to drop me off. Just… try and actually do some protecting, won't you?"

"I will. You're ok, right?"

That was far from the truth. "Uh, I have a witch with the power of 100 with me. I'm safe enough."

"Not what I asked."

"We'll discuss it later," Addie replied as Jeremy and Bonnie caught up to her. "I've got to go. I'll see you soon." Leaning against Bonnie's car, she grinned at Bonnie, "So, can you teleport people with your new super witch powers?"

Bonnie laughed, "No, I don't think so."

"Shame," she sighed in response. "Do you think you can do a really big favor for a good friend?"

The witch smirked, opening her door and looking at Addie over the hood of the car, "Drop you off at Damon's?"

Addie flinched, "Am I that obvious?"

Jeremy ruffled her hair affectionately and teased, "Yeah, when you're a big scaredy cat you're not very good at hiding things."

* * *

Sitting on the couch in the living room, Addie unrolled the cuffs of Damon's jacket, letting the sleeves hang past her hands. She was still feeling anxious and unsettled after the incident with the spirits; it breached a whole new realm of the supernatural that she was not ready to bear. Burying her face in Damon's shoulder, in the crook of his neck, and feeling him holding her close would be a reminder that he'd protect her from whatever came. However, she hadn't seen him since arriving back at the boardinghouse. Stefan had greeted her in but said that his brother was busy in the study.

Addie watched Elena finger a thick, rose gold chain with a lapis lazuli pendant. "Was that Isobel's?" she asked awkwardly. It was hard to intentionally play nice with her sister, on the rare occasions it did happen, it was usually unconscious.

Elena nodded, her eyes never straying from the necklace, "I never thought I would feel bad about her being dead and yet…"

"If it's any consolation, there was a time when I wished _you_ were dead but now, the idea of losing you is just… tragic," Addie shrugged.

Pooling the pendant and chain in one hand, Elena looked up at her sister curiously, "I know how angry you were with me after Mom and Dad. I know you're still bothered with me about it and it's probably something you're never going to get over without out some serious therapy. But I know you love me though and want to see me dead just as much as I'd want to see you or Jeremy. What I don't get is the point you're trying to make in how you feel about me and comparing it to what happened today."

"Whether we like it or not, you _are_ my sister; adoption or not I was raised with you not as a cousin. We're family by our parents. You may have problems with your parents but they are the reason you exist. Just because you weren't raised by Isobel doesn't mean you didn't come from her and so in a sense, without her and her decision to follow through with the pregnancy rather than an abortion, you kind of owe your existence to her. Mom and Dad get credit for _who_ you are though," Addie attempted to clarify, not sure if she was making her point.

Elena frowned at went back to playing with the chain. Just loud enough for Addie to hear she said, "My parents' did give me a pretty smart sister." When Stefan entered, Elena's attention quickly turned to him as he sat on the arm of the couch opposite of Addie. "Why did they let me go?"

"Well," considered Stefan, having already extensively discussed this with Damon, "anything John told Isobel, we have to assume Klaus knows, right? So he knows that you're not gonna turn yourself into a vampire. He knows that you have Damon and me keeping you safe."

"He knows exactly where to find you when he's ready," Addie interjected. "You're not proving to be a flight risk, otherwise, he'd have taken you."

"Which is why we need to take some precautions," Damon announced, entering the room, "'cause we got played, all of us."

Addie raised her hand as if she had a question but immediately began to speak before being called on, "I object to that. I told you Katherine was up to something. I told you that Elena needed two bodyguards. I can't be held accountable for what advice you guys fail to listen to."

"You didn't know what Katherine was up to, plus you didn't inform us of that until this morning. You got played."

Her eyes narrowed challengingly at Damon, "Katherine didn't decide on where her loyalties were until today. I _couldn't_ have warned you any sooner but you all should have expected that she was going to pull something at any given moment. It's _Katherine. _My job was witch duty. I took care of that. You guys were the ones duped by her and Isobel."

"Fine," Damon emphasized, dropping a stack of papers and pen in her lap. "Since you're all knowing perhaps you should be in charge of who can and can't come in here."

Addie skimmed over the keywords: house, title, gift deed, change of ownership. She scoffed and passed the papers and pen to her sister. "You've lost your mind."

"What is this?" Elena asked, looking between the brothers.

"It's the deed to our house. It's in Zach's name. As soon as you guys sign it, it'll be in your name," Stefan explained.

"Technically, we need to set up an appointment with a lawyer to sign before ownership officially transfers," interjected Damon.

Elena stared at them blankly, "You're giving me your house?"

"I _did_ say Damon lost his mind. Though I hadn't realized he had roped Stefan into his plan," Addie muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

Damon sneered at her, "I haven't lost anything. It's the smart thing to do. Isobel had the right idea with the safe house, except we don't plan on having Klaus invited in. You guys will just stay here until it's all over. This way, you two can control who gets invited and who doesn't. Although I'll be super pissed if you lock me out."

"That's the only reason I would sign. I'm not staying here until everything is over. It's just… no. You need one signer; Elena can do it. I'm not taking part in this," Addie firmly stated.

Damon tried to reason with her quietly, sitting by her as Stefan and Elena discussed the deed, "You have your own drawer and like a fifth of my closet space at this point. Plus you've spent every night for the past week here. It really wouldn't be any different. And what happens when you and Elena do agree on whether or not to invite in a vampire? I might be a little biased but you tend to seem to judge people more rationally than emotionally. It's much easier to make someone believe you're good than it is to make them think you're useful." He could read the distressed and resolute look in her eyes. "Ads, I already know which room would be a good fit for you if you want your own room. Look, I love having you around but the idea of actually living together is definitely a bridge neither of us is ready to cross. I just can't think of a better way to protect you. It's just a temporary thing."

"Damon, even for you this is extreme."

"A little," he conceded, "but I'm also extremely worried about you. This way I can leave you alone without freaking out about your safety."

"You're worrying too much about the wrong person! You need to focus on Elena. Have _you_ come up with a better way than Elijah's potion to make sure she survives Klaus' little ritual?" hissed Addie, becoming slightly annoyed.

He ran his hand over his face tiredly, "Now that Bonnie's all juiced up, that's what I'll be focusing on again. In all those grimoires there has to be something that she can do. I haven't talked about it with her yet but it's Bonnie, she'll do it for Elena…. Please, for my peace of mind, just sign the deed. We'll undo it once everything is safe again." She groaned reluctntly. Damon kissed her cheek with a smile. "I'm going to get our bags for tonight while you sign the papers and then you'll meet me at the car and we are going to put this whole crazy mess behind us for tonight."

"When did you have time to pack?" she wondered.

"Before getting you up this morning."

"You showered, packed, and cooked breakfast all before waking me up? Did you even sleep last night?"

Damon shook his head, "Not really. Hoping to get some better rest tonight. So, meet me at the car?"

Addie nodded. He gave her a small smile before leaving the room and heading towards the stairs. She turned towards Stefan, interrupting him and Elena, "How does this work for you and Damon? Can you guys be inside when we sign and it's implied that you're invited in or do you have to be outside and then officially invited in or what?"

Stefan handed the dense pile of papers and pen to her and shrugged, "It's implied I guess. Elena just signed and nothing happened. It probably only becomes effective when both of you sign it since Damon transferred it over in both your names and you won't complete signing it until with the lawyer so nothing would happen right away. Just initial next to where Elena did and signatures where she signed. The blanks have to be done in front of the lawyer."

"What happens to you if you're wrong and this becomes active once I finish signing?" Addie muttered, hearing the front door open and close. Damon was at least out.

"Uh, I'm not sure I really want to test that theory," Stefan chuckled. "I'm just gonna wait outside."

Elena followed Stefan out the front door, leaving Addie alone with the paperwork. Her sister must not have looked it over very carefully as it took her over twenty minutes to read through everything. Much of it was legalize that she did not understand but she wanted at least some idea of what she was getting into.

When she eventually finished signing, Addie went to join Stefan and Elena on the front porch. "Try it out," she sighed, passing the papers over to Stefan. The vampire tried to push his hand past the door frame but found that he could.

"So far so good," he grinned. "Elena, after you," he said courteously, waving her into the house.

Addie rolled her eyes and walked off towards Damon, leaning against the boot of his car, waiting much like he had for her that morning. He was barely within reach when she wrapped her arms around him, leaning into him. Damon kissed the top of her head, gently stroking her hair. He could feel Addie trembling against him. "What's wrong?" he murmured soothingly.

She shook her head, squeezing him tighter. "I don't like the supernatural," Addie whispered, not wishing to recount the events that transpired at the old witch house.

"Then it's a good thing we're not discussing it for the next," he glanced at his watch and smirked, "oh, I'd say 16 to 17 hours."

Pulling away from him, she nodded, "Yeah. Are you _sure_ you don't want to go off on your own? You can't deny that we've been a little more… edgy than usual."

"Yeah and that's because I've been feeling like more of a dick than usual," explained Damon, opening the door for her. "The solution isn't a break from you; it is you."

"You're not making sense."

"I know," he acknowledged, starting the car, "but I promise I'll explain later."

Sighing, Addie rested her head against the window. Her curiosity peaked when she realized Damon was taking a back road out of the town. "Where are we going?"

"Mmmm, _technically_ West Virginia but we'll be right on the border. The point is: we'll be far away from Mystic Falls."

"That's a bit of a drive when Charlottesville and Lynchburg are fairly close."

Damon smirked at her, waggling his eyebrows and hinted, "I'm taking you somewhere special. You'll probably be more interested in the place than you are me. Although, we're gonna have to stop and change at some point. Possibly. Probably. I'm not sure."

"What's with the confusion?" she asked, eyeing him warily.

"I want it to be a surprise but I also want you to enjoy yourself," he muttered, thinking.

Addie nodded slowly, "Ok. Here's what I'm speculating: something involving a hotel room as we will be gone overnight. Camping would take me by surprise but I don't see why we would need to change for that so it's illogical to think that would be a surprise. We have to go out of state for this, meaning it's probably not just any hotel; it likely has meaning to you. You think I may be more interested in the place than you. That suggests it has gotta be against an extremely beautiful back drop or has historical importance. I suggest this: we spend a lot of nights together in my room or your room that it wouldn't seem like much of a break if we did the same thing. Let's do different."

He laughed, "Alright. Well, we'll have to change because we are far too under-dressed for dinner. Fair warning: dress and heels are required for dinner."

Her face scrunched up in distaste, "Ew. Did you even pack that?"

"Of course. I thought of everything for any possible occasion. If it makes you feel any better I'm in a suit."

Addie's lips twitched upwards as she fought to keep her scowl, "Bowtie or regular tie?"

"Black tie," Damon smirked, seeing her grin. "I suppose we could just change in the room, though we are a still a bit undressed for checking in."

"Where the hell are you taking me? Some castle?"

"It's more of an excessive real estate/mansion turned into a historical landmark resort," he admitted.

That sounded fancy. And really expensive. Addie sighed, "Damon -"

He shook his head, "Don't bother arguing. You wanted me to get away and have some fun so that's what I'm doing. I made some calls before waking you up -"

"In addition to everything else?"

"Yeah. So we are escaping from everything until Monday afternoon," Damon finished lightly.

School was cancelled Monday for Easter, so that wasn't a conflict. It was something else that made Addie's eyebrows knit together as she reflected, "You said 16 or 17 hours. That's just over night. You're talking two days now. I didn't agree to this."

"Why do you think I didn't tell you to begin with? I didn't want to fight with you about it. It's pointless; I already booked everything. Trust me, we both need this time away from Mystic Falls. You're not going to regret coming."

Addie frowned, she wanted to debate him on this. He had absolutely no right to trick her into something. It was another dick move. Though arguing with him _would_ be pointless. Damon wasn't going to cave and turn the car back around. Plus, she wasn't sure if picking a fight was the best way to go about figuring out why he was acting so off. From her pocket, she pulled out her iPod and unwrapped the headphones from around it before jamming the buds in her ear. The wisest thing to do was to shut up and ignore him.

"What the hell?" mumbled Addie as they came across a large clearing on the edge of the Jefferson National Park an hour and a half later. A very wide, pristine white, six story manor seemed to have been dropped in the middle of nowhere. She raised her eyebrows in disbelief when Damon turned onto the drive that circled a large bed of red flowers and green fields lined with walkways.

"Well, I can say that the building hasn't changed since the last time I was here," remarked Damon, leaning over the steering wheel to try and and see all of the expansive building at once. "But the pavement is new and they tidied up the landscaping in the middle," he added, rolling to a gentle stop under the awning that jutted out from over the hotel entrance.

A valet and a porter toting a luggage cart were already approaching the car. Addie was going to ask if he was actually being serious but his unbuckling of the seatbelt and exit of the car answered her question. It was more than a little bothersome when she turned back around and found the valet holding the car door open for her. Feeling slightly anxious, she fumbled with the belt buckle, trying to unlock it. Quickly, she exited the car, quietly thanking the valet. Her uneasiness only grew as she watched Damon help the porter unload the trunk. Once emptied, the porter began pulling the cart inside. Addie peered at Damon curiously as he shook hands with the valet and muttered something about trees. When he turned back to her, Damon offered his hand and a reassuring smile.

Addie interlaced her fingers with his and tried to figure out where to start with the questions and protests. "When was the last time you were here?"

"I don't remember exactly the time frame but it was right before my mother got sick. We would vacation here a couple times a year. My mother particularly enjoyed the hot sulfur springs, so my father would indulge her in that. Personally, I liked the falconry training and gun club. This is where I first shot a gun. I was about nine. My mother thought I was still too young to go hunting with my father so he had yet to show me. I don't think she ever knew what I got up to when we were here; it's so large that it wasn't unusual for me to go missing for hours," Damon recalled fondly, his grip on Addie's hand tightening slightly. He watched her from the corner of his eye as the entered the lobby flanked by roaring fireplaces and filled with ornate couches, overstuffed wing-backed chairs and lit by chandeliers. Her bottom lip was pulled between her teeth as she shook her head slightly and she clutched at his hand. He ran the fingers of his free hand through his hair nervously. Knowing the answer, he quietly asked, "Too much?"

"Well," Addie sighed, not wanting to disappoint him, "it looks like you packed the entire closet. Reminds me of when Caroline or Elena pack for a sleepover and they bring like ten different outfits for one night."

Damon chuckled, watching her study the luggage cart with great intensity, "I _did_ say I packed for any occasion. There are so many different things to do that I couldn't very well predict exactly what you would need."

"Mmm. I'm still trying to wrap my head around you picking out my underwear," she mumbled as he lead her to the front desk.

He scoffed, "I didn't really consider it. _You _are the one with a very profound interest in what I wear; even down to the color and material."

"Yes, well, I don't walk around in mine like you do," she retorted defensively.

"Is that a complaint? Because I can wear more clothes."

She blushed and dropped his hand and began to wander over to the plaque that told about the history of "America's Resort". "Just go check us in."

Laughing slightly, Damon finished making his way to the front desk to do that. Addie glanced around before reading the information sign hanging under a very old picture of the building. Polos, sweaters, and slacks seemed to be the hotel attire; Damon was right when he said they were under-dressed. She turned back to the plaque, stuffing her hands inside the pockets of Damon's jacket.

_Located amid the breathtaking mountains of West Virginia, The Greenbrier is a National Historic Landmark and world-class resort that has been welcoming guests from around the world since 1778. The natural mineral springs that drew our first guests over 235 years ago continue to lure visitors to our 10,000 acre luxury retreat today. With a guest list that includes 26 of our country's 44 Presidents, America's Resort has long been a favorite destination of royalty, celebrities and business leaders. _

_The Greenbrier is widely regarded as one of the finest luxury resorts around the world. Surrounded by the wondrous Allegheny Mountains, The Greenbrier offers exclusive services and amenities such as championship golf, fine dining, more than 55 activities, designer boutiques, our world-renowned mineral spa and a 103,000 square foot gaming and entertainment venue._

_Explore your personal 10,000 acre playground and discover an unparalleled selection of luxury - _

The feel of arms around her waist and a chin on her shoulder interrupted her reading. She rested her head against Damon's, feeling he was tensed by the way he held her. Quietly Addie asked, "What's up?"

"You know that thing called patience?" he scowled, holding her tighter. "I'm using up the last of mine."

"What's wrong?"

"The room was supposed to be ready by 4:00 but now they're saying a fifteen minute wait."

Addie kissed him lightly on the cheek. "You can handle it. We're not exactly in a rush. Is there a list somewhere of the 55 activities that we should be deciding between or something to pass the time?"

He pulled the rolled up catalog from his back and passed it to her. "On the plus side, they're upgrading our room," Damon slightly reconciled.

"Yeah?" she acknowledged distractedly, skimming through all the activities and trying to figure which were being held while they were there.

He smirked, "Mm-hmm. They're putting us in the Congressional Suite for some reason. It's a two bedroom so now you don't have to share one with me."

"But what if I wanted to share one?" Addie asked innocently, leaning back into him.

"I guess we could," Damon sighed dramatically, as if he really didn't want to.

Addie made to pull away from him but he kept her close, lightly tickling her sides. "Fine," she tried to pout through giggles. "I didn't want to share a bed with you anyways."

"I'm kidding. I'm kidding," he insisted between grazing his lips along her neck.

She rolled the catalog of activities up and lightly tapped it against his head. Scarlet faced she hissed. "Not here. Control yourself."

"I'm sick of that word. _Control_. It's so… restraining," mused Damon, returning to resting his chin on her shoulder. "Besides, I'm bored. Bored and impatient do not make for a good combination in me, especially when I'm tired of controlling myself."

Images of the trouble he could cause flashed through her mind. "Damon…"

"Don't worry," he muttered bitterly. "Just because I'm growing sick of being on good behavior doesn't mean I can't keep it up."

"This is why I told you to go off without me."

"Don't use that know-it-all tone with me. It makes you look bad when you're wrong, like you are now. You think I should have gone off and done things you would rather not know about. I don't _want_ to do that, Ads. Yeah, I'm tired of walking the straight line but that's why I needed to get away with you. I… it's complicated to explain in a rushed conversation. But you remind me why I'm not doing those things and you make me feel like _behaving_ isn't a chore and I actually feel motivated to be the good guy," Damon tried to briefly summarize, beginning to feel like he was repeating himself. Had he already discussed the really uncomfortable part of the situation with her or had he just replayed it over and over in his head so much that it felt real?

Addie tapped at her chin with the rolled catalog, attempting to fully rationalize what Damon did or didn't do, his motivations, and how she felt on how he chose to act. The clearing of a throat interrupted her train of thought.

"Mr. Salvatore?" asked the young concierge, her voice cracking.

Damon dropped his arms from around Addie and turned to the young worker. Unless he was trying to be charming, Damon never really sounded friendly but Addie was surprised to hear him sound so frosty. Something was really up with him. "Yeah?"

The woman held out two key cards to the vampire, refusing to meet his eye. "You're room is ready. We really do apologize for the delay."

Addie smiled at the concierge and quickly reached for the cards, responding before Damon had a chance to be rude, "It's absolutely no problem."

The employee gave Addie a small, nervous grin, "To get to your room you'll use the fourth elevator on the left if you take a right down this hallway. Simply insert your key in the slot above the fifth floor. Your things have already been taken up to your room. To make any bookings or reservations for services or any assistance at all you just need to dial 0 from the room phone. In the room there-"

"Yeah," Damon clipped her off, "thanks. I'm very familiar with the way things run."

"Right," the young woman replied quietly, wringing her hands. "If there is anything we can do to enhance your stay, please let us know."

"Will do," he nodded curtly, grabbing Addie's hand and leading her down the hallway.

She pulled her hand from his when they were out of earshot and chastised, "Did you have to be be mean?"

Damon shook his head, "Nope. I don't have to do a lot of things I do."

"Why are you being so… cantankerous?" demanded Addie as he jabbed the button to call the elevator.

"Impatience? Boredom? Short temper? I don't know. Take your pick."

"I'm not doing this, Damon. I'm not going to spend the weekend fighting with you or biting my tongue because you're cranky."

Damon ran his hand through his hair again as he stepped into the elevator and sighed. "I'm sorry. I am. I'm trying to drop it but I'm still upset about today. I should have known better with Katherine and Isobel. We make a first down and then get pushed back five yards. Today was just a loss of ground on our part."

Addie stuck one of the key cards in the empty slot above the buttons for each floor. The metal box gave a sharp jerk upwards before smoothly sliding up. Addie placed her hands on either side of Damon's face and, pushing herself up on the tips of her toes, lightly pressed her lips against his. It was a kiss meant to give solace. "I promise you, today wasn't as damaging as you think."

His hands settled on her hips, pushing her back down, The smile he gave was forced and unconvinced. He pulled the key card from the elevator when it came to a halt and the doors parted. "We're not suppose to be talking about this," reminded Damon with a grimace, turning her to face two heavy looking mahogany doors.

"Seriously?" she murmured, looking at the two brass doorknobs.

Damon made to open the door as Addie seemed to think the handles were going to bite her. "In my defense, I _did not_ book a room with private elevator access, a rooftop terrace, two bedrooms and whatever else we may find. I mean, personally, I wanted the Presidential Suite because the bathtub is three feet deep and could easily fit four people and has Jacuzzi jets but I did figure two floors with a spiral staircase, seven bedrooms, a library and dining room was a wee bit over the top for your liking. We were supposed to be in a one room cottage that was originally built in the early 1800s and is outfitted with 19th century decor and furniture." He shrugged, pulling her by the hand into the black and white marble foyer. "Guess I was trying to share a little bit of my real life, my human life, with you."

"Well now I'm really disappointed that we didn't get that," Addie frowned, trying to focus on Damon rather than the checkerboard floor. The white was too pure and the black polished to the point that it reflected the paintings on the walls.

"There's still plenty of secrets places I can share," he winked.

A single door adorned the wall on their left and on their right. In front of them was a set of double door. Damon seemed to contemplate which to pick for a moment before pushing open one of the doors in front. Addie entered into a large parlor with a roaring fire and what looked to be extremely plush floral patterned seating. It was very lavish but that wasn't what bothered her. There was a trail of red rose petals that led to a that had to be connected to one of the room off the hall and a tray table with two flutes of champagne and an ice bucket with a bottle of the drink. Following the trail Addie briefly hesitated before opening the door. Tea light candles showed the entire floor was almost a layer of flowers and that nearly as many decorated the king sized bed.

Addie crossed her arms and glared expectantly at Damon. He held up his hands defensively, "Don't look at me like that. I _swear_ I had nothing to do with this. You'd think I'd be stupid enough to intentionally make things awkward or make you uncomfortable."

"You have a tendency to do stupid things."

He scoffed and gestured at the room and champagne. "This though? No. I'm not trying to… Ok, I'm starting to realize how really bad and cliche this looks. Honestly, though, my _only_ intention this weekend is to get us away from all the drama of home and to spend time with you," stressed Damon. "The awkward fighting without actually confronting each other but still being around you so much this past week with that tension is just… _bad._ It's been bad. It's better when we bicker over stupid crap than pretend nothing is wrong. _I'm_ better with you around and annoyed at me rather than actually angry and upset."

"I'm not mad at you," Addie mumbled, stopping to gather the flower petals in her hands.

Damon raised a lazy, challenging eyebrow at her and asked coolly, "Well then what are you? Contrary to _Twilight_ no vampire can read minds. And what are you doing?"

She took off his jacket and turned it into a sling so that she could hold more of the blood red petals and smirked, "A good deed and, more importantly, making this less awkward. Grab the flowers from the bed."

"I'm not sure I want to get roped into one of your plans," Damon answered but she had already moved back to the sitting room and was collecting the trail that led to the bedroom. Slightly reluctant, he did as she said before joining her.

"Come on," Addie grinned coyly, leading him down a short hallway to a sliding glass door. Careful not to drop the flowers petals she opened it and made her way to the edge of the rooftop terrace though she didn't look over. "Tell me when a couple is coming," she instructed Damon as he came to stand next to her.

He leaned against the metal fence to look over the edge and frowned. It wasn't exactly like this was the middle of downtown Manhattan abuzz with people. "And why would I do that?"

She shook her makeshift sling at him and looked at him hopefully. "Come on, Damon. These are a waste on us but they don't have to be a total waste. We drop them on some unsuspecting couple and give them a romantic moment."

"Since when do you believe in constructing romantic moments?" he muttered, looking back down.

"I don't for me. It's cheesy, unoriginal, and lacks authenticity due to planning. Neither party is expecting this, though, so it keeps the authenticity."

Spying an elderly couple walking hand-in-hand Damon stretched out his petal filled ones over the ledge and prepared to release them. Conspiratorially he whispered, "Incoming couple."

A swooping feeling overtook Addie as she looked to see the people Damon had mentioned. They were a lot further from the ground than she had thought. Considering air resistance, she thought it would be best to wait until they seemed four feet before being directly under her and Damon. When it looked like the couple had reached the point, Addie dumped the flowers from Damon's jacket and urged him to let go of the ones he held. She quickly stepped back from the edge, moving to grab Damon's arm when he continued to look to see where the leaves fell rather than retreat. "It loses the magic if they look up and see you dropped them!" admonished Addie.

"I don't think they're actually going to believe rose petals just started falling from the sky directly over them," he laughed. As an afterthought he added, "Or two feet in front of them. We kind of missed their heads."

"Close enough," Addie shrugged, slipping the jacket back on. The weight of the moonstone hit reassuringly against her side.

Back inside Damon made his way to the closet and pulled out two garment bags. He unzipped one just a quarter of a way to check whose it was before passing it to Addie, who had followed him. "We should probably get ready for dinner," he suggested. "Do you want the bedroom bathroom or the main one?"

* * *

After dinner there was a mini observatory out in a clearing of the woods surrounding the Greenbrier with several benches and a collection of telescopes that Damon led Addie too. Away for big city lights the sky was brightly lit up by the moon and stars. As they debated whether Orion's belt was the three stars lined up in the northern sky or the three in the western sky. Determined to prove that she was right, Addie slipped her hand into the pocket of Damon's blazer to retrieve her cell phone as she had none on the royal blue dress with a sweetheart neckline and handkerchief hem that Damon had picked out.

"You're cheating," he teased in a singsong voice, adjusting the focuser on the magnifier to get a better view of the twinkling blue and white stars.

"I'm proving I'm right," Addie quipped back. When she pulled up a star chart on her phone Addie pulled at Damon's shoulder, making him step back from the magnifier. The glowing screen waved in his face as she said proudly, "Western sky! I told you it was obvious because of Orion nebula right under it."

Damon frowned and replaced the phone back in his pocket before draping the jacket around her shoulders. He took her hand to lead her to one of the benches and huffed in mock annoyance, "Do you have to be such a know-it-all?"

Addie shrugged as she leaned onto his shoulder with his arm around her, "Have to? Probably not. I don't think it would kill me not to be. However, I do enjoy it so I shall continue to be."

"Lovely," Damon drew out slowly.

"Oh, you know you like me," she smiled, lightly swatting him in the stomach with the back of her hand.

Defensively he replied, "Only on days that end in 'y'."

The sky was so clear that Addie was able to make out four complete constellations as she sat next to Damon, working up the nerves to question him about what she wanted to know. After several minutes of just hearing the crickets and cicada she spoke up, "You've been kind of off lately."

"Because I killed the Martins?" scoffed Damon.

"That and you've just seen a little more mean. You're acting different," confronted Addie.

Feeling slightly anxious Damon ran his hand through his hair. It's not like he wanted to tell her but he had promised that he would explain. "I'm not acting any different from who I am; I'm just more like I was before you. And I'm like that because that's who I normally am. When I'm with you I feel way more connected to my humanity than I have been in 145 years. Feeling that way makes me act in a more conscious manner. Lately we've been fighting and have been distant and not having that connection with you makes being the good guy draining. However, when I'm with you being a better man just comes easier and it's someone I want to be and I really don't even have to try at it. It's not living off blood bags or not having puppets that is bothering and I'm not acting differently because I miss those things. It's just that you've gotten use to me acting more in touch with my humanity and it's hard for me to do that when we're not in a good place." Damon ran his fingers through Addie's long locks as he waited nearly ten minutes for her to respond. "What are you thinking?"

Addie's voice was small and hollow, "I'm thinking that it's not fair for you to make me or our relationship responsible for your connection to your humanity or to you behaving like a decent person. We _are_ going to end and I shouldn't have to worry about exactly how many people are going to be hurt by that."

* * *

**A/N: **

** IMPORTANT QUESTION about the future, season three and what you guys want to see happen. Now, I see four options **

**1)Stop at the end of season two **

**2)Continue in this story with season three - it's just going to be like 400k to 450k words at that point and I think that's getting a bit tedious and overwhelming for any new reader **

**3)Start a sequel that picks up where this drops off **

**4)Start a sequel at a latter time (for which I need suggestions because I don't know when to start)**

**Let me know what you guys think! So far it's looking like number one is winning unless I hear different**


	34. Chapter 37

The arrow indicating the selected number repetitively turned past zero through sixty as Addie spun the lock absentmindedly. Damon had put it on the cellar door as extra reinforcement after the incident with Luka. Now, it was the one thing standing between her and Elijah. Her face pressed against the bars of the viewing window showed her a dagger, dessicated, and very charred looking Original. His one impeccable suit was frayed and burnt to a crisp. A flamethrower had been used on Luka when he tried to pull the dagger out so it made sense that at least a few sparks would have jumped to Elijah but this almost looked like the fire had been directed straight at the vampire. But Damon wouldn't have tried to permanently eliminate Elijah; would he? They still had to wake him back up and find out where the potion was that would allow Elena to survive the sacrifice. Still, why did Damon have a flamethrower right by the cellar? And why did Elijah look like barbeque?

"What are you doing?" Damon asked sharply.

Addie pulled away from the door and quickly turned to face him, a guilty look on her face. He had told her not to come down here. The sight was supposably too disturbing but now she was starting to wonder if he was trying to hide an attempt to dispose of Elijah. She quickly transformed her face into an innocent and with a small shrug answered, "Nothing. I just… well, he's been in here for almost a month. I didn't entirely believe that he wouldn't have turned to dust and bones since he's already dessicated."

"If only he were that easy to kill," Damon muttered darkly. Louder he continued, "The lawyer is here to finish signing over the deed to the house. Elena's finishing up her part so you need to sign next."

"I still think it's a completely idiotic idea and it should just be in her name," grumbled Addie making to move past Damon but he caught her by the shoulder and had her face him again.

"We've already beat that topic to death; there are more important matters to discuss." His voice was commanding and stern as he straightened up to his full height, staring down at her, "Before we got home from dinner last night my room was searched again. Whoever did it tried to put everything back in the right place so I wouldn't notice but somethings in the closet weren't right."

Addie raised her eyebrows at him in disbelief and snorted, "And you think I snooped through your room?"

Damon shook his head. "No, that's not the problem. The only thing I have worth hiding Katherine supposedly took. We know from Elena that Isobel betrayed Katherine to Klaus and thus, if she had it, Klaus would have found out."

"You're talking like you don't think Katherine ever took the moonstone," Addie observed, nervously shoving her hands in her pockets in order to not run them through her hair and give herself away.

His eyes narrowed as he frowned at her disapprovingly. "No, I don't she did. Not anymore. Someone came back to search for the moonstone. I've searched the entire house and even had Stefan look but there is nothing else missing. No expensive or otherwise magical object were taking. Everything but the moonstone is here."

She rolled her eyes and spoke slowly, as though she were explaining to a child, "The moonstone went missing _after Katherine_ searched your room, not last night. Whoever broke in had to have been looking for something else."

"Unless they were looking for the moonstone because Katherine thinks I still have it because she never found it."

"What are you suggesting? The magical rock sprouted legs and walked away?" Addie scoffed.

A loud, deep breath escaped Damon in an attempt to remain calm. "No and I'd rather you not insult my intelligence or lie about this. There was only one other person in my room between when I was last in it and when Katherine ramshackled it, the only person besides myself who knew where I hid the moonstone. You, Addie. You have to have taken it; there's no other reason for someone, probably Klaus or his henchmen, to search the house."

Addie crossed her arms and gave him a hard look. "Don't you think Katherine would have torn apart the _entire_ house if she hadn't found the moonstone in your room?"

"No. She knows me too well," he said quietly, rubbing at his chin awkwardly. "She knows I wouldn't have trusted the stone to anyone else and I would have kept it close. If it wasn't in my room it wasn't in the house. So answer me; did you take the moonstone?"

"Why would I take a stupid rock?"

Damon threw up his hands in exasperation and exclaimed, "I have no freaking clue. Though, I don't understand half the things you do which just makes me believe even more that you have some bizarre reason for doing so. How you couldn't tell me and let me think Katherine and Klaus had it I don't understand though."

"The more ingredients Klaus has the closer he is to performing the ritual! The closer we are to the sacrifice the sooner we wake up Elijah and find the damn potion to save my sister!" she exclaimed back at him, stomping her foot on the last word for emphasis.

"You took it so I'd undagger Elijah?"

Addie rolled her deep blue eyes; that was just one of the reason she hadn't told him that she had the moonstone. "No," she sighed callously, "I took it because Katherine asked about it and I _knew_ she was up to something sinister. I figured it was safer with me than being left unguarded with her around."

"So, you have it?" She nodded. Damon held out his hand palm up, "Give it back."

Shaking her head, Addie skirted around Damon and towards the stairs. "No."

Following her he growled, "Excuse me?"

"If you're right about Klaus searching the house than he thinks _you_ have the moonstone. Who's going to ever expect that I have the dumb thing?" Addie pointed out, opening the door to the hall.

"You're putting yourself in danger!"

Spinning on her heel she jabbed him with a single finger squarely in his chest, "_You_ don't get a say on this unless you're the same asshole I first met and willing to get me away from vervain so you can compel it out of me. That's the only way anyone is going to find out where it is."

"Be reas-"

"I am being reasonable," she snapped, cutting him off. "Mason had it but lost it to you. You had it but lost it to Katherine. Then you got the moonstone again. Then you trusted the Martins and gave it to Bonnie so she and Luka could despell, but they didn't. Luka then gave the moonstone to Elijah. Then you daggered him and took it back. You _thought_ you lost it to Katherine and would have it I hadn't taken it. You have a nasty little habit of losing the thing. Plus, in each case too many people knew who had the moonstone. If no one knew I had it, no one could take it. But now you know so I'm just going to have to settle with keeping my hiding place safe."

"Admittedly, I don't have the best track record with it," Damon confessed, cupping her cheeks, "but I still think it's safer with me. What if, God forbid, Klaus just starts going down a list of people looking for it."

Addie placed one hand over his and gave him an encouraging smile, "That just means it's even safer with me. You _know_ that your compulsion didn't fully work when you cut my arm and told me I wouldn't feel anything but I did feel a little sting and pressure. _You _said that we just need to do it one more time and I can resist compulsion. After that Klaus can't compel me into telling him where the moonstone is. He'll still be able to compel you to tell him, though."

"Then we'll do that after school." He tucked a strand of dyed hair behind her ear and shook his head, continuing sadly, "But Klaus won't stop at compulsion. Addie, he'll torture you until you tell him where that rock is."

She stepped back towards the living room, pulling his hand from her face and giving it a light squeeze. "Then the guy is underestimating the power of family. I may not like my sister but I would never betray her to her death. If it comes down to it, Klaus is free to torture me to death."

"Addie," Damon pleaded, not liking how she talked so casually about dying.

"I'm not discussing this and you can't change my mind," Addie stated with no room for negotiating. Turning from him she walked into the living room to join Elena, Bonnie, and the lawyer.

Upon seeing her sister Elena vacated her seat behind the couch and indicated for her sister to sit. "Perfect timing," she grinned. "I just finished signing."

"Fantastic," Addie mumbled, slipping into the chair.

The lawyer was a stout man balding at the top and Addie couldn't help but notice that he smelled unsettlingly like pizza as he stood next to her. "I just need you need you to sign here and here and here and every blank on the last two pages," he said jovial, tapping each blank spot with a pen that he offered to her when he finished.

Bonnie twisted around on the sofa to watch Addie sign and inquired of her and Elena, "So this place is all yours? They just gave it to you?"

"I can assure you that it is a very temporary thing," the youngest mumbled, flipping a page.

"As owners we're the only ones who can invite a certain type of person in here, if you know what I mean," clarified Elena.

The witch nodded, mildly impressed, "Your own personal safe house."

"That's the idea."

Looking around and taking in the sheer size of the house Bonnie's lips twitched upwards, "Wouldn't want to clean it."

Addie snickered, "Oh, that's Damon's job. That was one of my conditions in signing."

"That's so not fair," Bonnie breathed out through giggles. Leave it to her best friend to have conditions before agreeing to anything, even if it was for her own good.

"I think it's perfectly fair," she rebutted indignantly. "Do you not remember having to spread a sheet for Mason? Or perhaps the several times the place has been trashed by houseguests? I'll clean my messes but he has to clean his."

Elena nodded, understanding the cryptic references her sister was making, "Sounds fair to me."

With a long strike that cut through the "G" and crossed the "t" in "Gilbert" Addie finished signing the papers and retracted the ballpoint pen with a click. "Is that everything?" she asked politely, holding out the stack of papers and pen to the lawyer.

"Indeed that is," he grinned, taking the papers and moving them to his briefcase.

"Wonderful," Elena piped up, leading the man to the door.

Addie followed a few steps behind. When they reached the entrance Elena shook the lawyer's hand and thanked him. As her sister wiped her hand on her jeans after showing him out Addie wondered if his hands were greasy like pizza. She leaned against the door as Elena turned to walk back into the living room. Damon and Stefan, who had been waiting right outside the door made to follow only to bump into an invisible force when they attempted to pass the threshold. Damon gave her an expectant look but Addie just smiled broadly at him. His low growly caused it to stretch until her cheeks hurt.

"I'm sorry! I completely forgot," apologized Elena when she realized she wasn't being following. She walked back and fluttered her lashes up at her boyfriend, coquettishly asking, "Stefan, would you like to come inside my house?"

"I would love to. Thank you," he grinned, crossing into the house and placing a light kiss on her forehead.

Elena's eyes darted between her sister and Damon, uncertain of just how far Addie would take her little game and if she should step in.

"What are we? Twelve?" sneered Damon.

Addie pretended to consider this, "Mmm. Well, one of us actually is and I'm not that far off. Plus I did say the whole reason I would sign would be to lock you out." His cool look made it clear he was not amused. "If, _if_," she heavily emphasized, "we let you in, do you promise to do what Elena and I want?"

He scoffed, "No."

"Seriously, Damon. Our way. _You promised me_. We call the shots. No more lies, no secret agendas. Any of this ringing a bell?"

"Yes, Addie. Sure," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

She shook her head and pushed off from the door and chided, "That's not your honest, serious voice."

Damon's brows knitted together in confusion and denied, "I don't have an honest, serious voice; I just have a voice."

"Lie," Addie decided. She quickly stuck her tongue out at him before heading back upstairs to his room to get her backpack.

The bookbag rested at the base of his dresser like always. Addie grabbed it, placed it on the bed and unzipped it. From off of Damon's nightstand she grabbed her book for English, Hamilton's _Mythology_, and went to put it in the bag. However, it fell from her hand when she was started by a force spinning her around. Damon's lips crashed into Addie's. His hands were quickly at the back of her neck and her hip, pulling her against his chest as though he'd been waiting for forever and had no intention of letting her go. Her hands found the sides of his jacket, bringing herself closer. His taste of coffee and the slight remaining trace of toothpaste was enticing. Reluctantly, as he sensed her breathing start to quicken, Damon pulled away.

"That wasn't very nice."

"So you kiss me?"

"Because I can be nice."

Addie shrugged and countered, "Not really. You broke the rules; the only way you could have gotten up here so fast is vampire speed."

"You locked me out. That's worse than me cheating."

"Oh puh-lease. Elena was obviously going to invite you. If there was any doubt in my mind that she wouldn't, I would have."

Damon's lips pursed in a slight pout, "It should have been you."

"Yeah, well," she shrugged, looking for a rationalization, "you weren't being serious about approaching this whole Klaus thing Elena's way. It's her life at stake."

"You mean your way?"

Her arms crossed defensively. "Elena doesn't need to know every single detail. I know you like control but can't you just trust me to make the right decisions?"

"I just worry about you being safe," he whispered, caressing her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

Gently Addie pulled his hand away and whispered, "Please."

"I already told Elena I would," sighed Damon. "Personally, I think you going to school completely defeats the purpose of the safe house we just created but you don't hear me arguing about that," he pointed out, waving at her backpack and the book on his bed.

Placing her hands on his shoulders and pushing herself up on her toes, Addie gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be fine," she promised. "And Bonnie will always be near by if Klaus does shows up. She can take him; the rest of us lack that power. Being by her is just as safe as being here."

His lips as he held back a smile, "I was listening in and your sister said almost the exact same thing to Stefan. You two aren't that different with that Gilbert defiance and determination."

"I can assure you that we are very different," Addie muttered darkly. "Nevertheless we both have a point. Klaus isn't going to just show up and make his move in the middle of a high school."

* * *

There was something off about the way Alaric wrote "SIXTIES" on the chalkboard. The letters were too cramped together and the word was at a slight slant upwards compared to his usually level writing. It was definitely odd, Addie decided, but not as odd as how he was behaving. Alaric wasn't a man to pace back and forth behind his desk before class started as students filled in. No, he was the casual teacher who leaned against the test greeting everyone and giving out high fives. Perhaps this odd behavior was just his reaction to his ex-wife dying again.

After Isobel died Alaric did take nearly three weeks off from work and no one had seen him. Addie had tried to subtly push Jenna into seeing him but there was definitely no luck on that front; she was staying on Whitmore campus to purposefully avoid Uncle John and Alaric. Whether or not her pestering Damon to check up on him had been effective or not she wasn't; he maintained that the best way to let Alaric deal with his grief was to leave him alone. Addie had countered with how well that had worked for both of them but Damon had insisted that he was fine and proof that the method worked. Those beautiful piercing blue orbs she always got lost in betrayed him, though. He might not want to claim Alaric as a friend but he certainly missed having him around and that left Addie with the hope that he had reached out to the other man. Of course his pride would keep him from telling her if he did so.

The tardy bell rang and Alaric cleared his throat, turning to face the class. With his hands clasped behind his back and rocking on the balls of his feet, a definitely atypical action, he said, "Today we will be discussing the 60s in honor of tonight's dance."

Without thinking, Addie's hand shot into the air.

"Yes, Addison?"

She frowned; there were only a handful of people who called her that: Elijah, Damon when he was being serious or trying to make a point, and her close friends and family when she was really annoy. Alaric had only once called her "Addison" when reading the attendance sheet the first day of class and she had quickly set him straight. "This is AP World History. We've been discussing global conflicts and their consequences of the early 20th century in preparation for the exam in less than two weeks. According to the syllabus the 60s and 70s are the last section we cover and that is next Thursday. If we only cover the 60's today that not only throws off the chronological order but it also means we must add in an extra lesson for the 70s which means we will not get the practice exam and review session you promised before the actual test," Addie pointed out without thinking. She frowned slightly when she replayed what she had said in her head and realized how snotty and rude it had sounded. Oh well. A guy who would have killed her if it wasn't for Damon didn't get to call her by her full her name.

The cold and hardness from Alaric's bright brown eyes sent a tingle down her legs that Addie hadn't felt since the night she met Damon. She wanted, needed to run, to escape this confining room. Everything suddenly felt so overwhelming and she just couldn't handle it. Mentally she shook herself; she was being ridiculous. This was _Alaric._ He was her teacher. She'd seen the guy in his boxers! If he was going to hurt her he had plenty of chances when he'd spent the night and she was completely defenseless in sleep. Her body didn't care about reason though. Before she knew it, Addie had picked up her spiral, slung her backpack over her shoulder and was out of the room.

If she twisted or landed the wrong way, she would still have the shooting back through her glute and down the back of her thigh from when she had hurt herself at the track meet almost three weeks ago. The pain had been so bad that she had to cut back on how much she was practicing. Now, though, there were no thoughts of the constant dull throb as she listened to familiar, eager flinching of her calves and thighs and took off running towards the cafeteria. Her siblings and Bonnie all had lunch that period; being with them would calm the irrational uneasiness she had just felt in Alaric's presence.

Addie didn't see Elena but across the crowded room filled with the voices of hundreds of students she saw Jeremy and Bonnie having what looked like a very intense conversation, there heads close together. Slowing to a walk, she briefly considered the morality of interrupting her brother and best friend but quickly dismissed the thought. The two had plenty of alone time, especially since Damon preferred her to be with him as much as possible since Katherine turned traitor and Klaus knew everything and Bonnie was about as fond of being around Damon as he was her. Jeremy brought the Xbox over a couple times and was over for dinner at least three times a week so she still saw him at least but her visits with Bonnie had been mostly limited to school. Dropping into the seat next to the witch, she decided that she definitely missed her best friend. Damon be damn. She was going to make more time to see Bonnie.

"What?" Jeremy hissed, not noticing his little sister's presence. "What are you going to do?"

"Do about what?" Addie interjected, wanting to either be able to follow the conversation or keep them from saying something private and personal.

"Addie?" Jeremy said, tilting his head and studying her like a piece of abstract art.

Bonnie frowned at the younger girl disapprovingly, "Aren't you supposed to be in history?"

Addie made a face of awe, leaned in towards them and in a hushed, amazed tone retorted, "Haven't you heard? There's a big bad vampire on the loose that only you can kill!" She sat back up and shrugged, "Plus I promised Damon I'd be fine. Wouldn't really be holding up my end of that deal if I ran into Klaus alone, I'm guessing. He may not want me but Damon's not convinced that he won't kill me to make a statement or take me as a hostage."

Jeremy laughed, "Basically you didn't want to be in class."

Addie gasped and placed a hand over her heart, looking taken aback, "I am offended. I'm telling the truth."

"Oh, I know you are," Jeremy smirked, "but I also know that you think Damon's being paranoid and you would never follow anything close to orders."

"Basically I didn't want to be in class," admitted Addie with a smile. She liked when her and Jeremy were in sync. Her grin lessened as she asked, "How are you, though? You alright at the house alone with John?"

"It's not ideal," he answered with a dramatic sigh, "but between how pissed off Damon would be and how upset John is with you for being with Damon you coming home would be a really bad idea. You know, not a day has gone by that he hasn't given me a lecture about how I'm suppose to look out for you and I need to convince you to stay away from Damon?"

"Well why aren't you?"

Jeremy raised one shoulder dismissively as he stood up to leave and casually answered, "Because I've never known anyone to convince you of anything, except Damon. He somehow got you to give him a chance despite how much you hated him. I think that means something. Plus, even if you don't want to admit it and even if all I ever see you do is argue, you're both happier and better together. Your moods don't go as extreme with Damon around. To me, looking out for you means helping you be stable and happy. I'd be doing the opposite if I got you to give up Damon."

Addie glared at her brother's retreating back and grumbled, "I don't need Damon."

"Of course you don't need him," agreed Bonnie, smiling at Elena who sat down with a tray of food in the spot Jeremy just vacated, "but that doesn't mean he isn't right?"

Swallowing a bite of apple Elena asked, "Who's right about what?"

Addie's hand shot out to snatch a napkin from her sister's plate and began pulling it into little pieces and scowled, "Nothing."

"Jeremy and I agree that Addie is more balanced and happy with Damon."

Elena mulled this over as she chewed through another bite of apple. She couldn't really tell if either was true. On some levels Addie seemed happier; she wasn't so uptight about school, they got along a lot better even if there was still resentment on both sides, and she was so much bolder and doing things she never would have if she hadn't met Damon. Everyone else might have been convinced that Addie had better control over her emotions and was more stable and not bouncing from hypo-mania to not wanting to leave her bed every few _hours_ but Elena wasn't.

Elena always guessed that part of her sister's problems stemmed from loneliness and that was why she always got her mom to force Addie into doing as much with her and her friends as she could but Addie never really clicked with anyone except Bonnie. Even with Bonnie, though, it wasn't like Addie opened up about herself or her problems. Damon of all people was able to do what only her dad and Jeremy had been able to do and that was to break past Addie's walls and defenses. When they walked in on Rose Elena had seen the vulnerability and pain in her sister's eyes for the briefest moment and at that point it was clear just how much Damon meant to her.

When Addie stopped talking to Damon after that the ups and downs were back. She hid them throwing herself into making her music but Elena had notice the weird appetite patterns and the increased insomnia and Addie was a monster when they did encounter each other. That all stopped when she started talking to Damon again but Elena guessed that the ups and downs still happened. They were probably less intense and frequent because Addie finally felt someone to connect to. She had a nagging feeling that Damon helped Addie to hide her moods from everyone. Elena's first clue was again the incident with Rose and she noticed her sister's stress and insecurity over school become over Damon. Then she began to see how Addie was nicer to everyone, even when some of the things Caroline did would have once pissed her off. Except, while her and Damon got along better, they still fought just as much. Elena couldn't help but think that carried over into when they were alone. Addie was still just as frustrated and angry but the majority of it had been turned against Damon. Why? Well, Elena couldn't exactly figure out why Damon was still with Addie and he wasn't the one she was trying to psychoanalyze anyways.

Addie's stability could generally be judged on a few simple things: her focus and anxiety, her sleep, her appetite, whether she was motivated or depressed, and how long it took to irritate her. It was clear that her focus and anxiety were on Damon rather than grades, which was the go to measurement. Most nights she slept with Damon and it wasn't exactly like she could hear her sister watching Netflix at two in the morning like she use to. Ever since kindergarten Addie didn't eat lunch; Elena couldn't exactly judge by that. She knew Damon made breakfast every morning but Addie had never been a breakfast person, either. However, from overhearing them it was clear that she at least ate sometimes but others it was very obvious she didn't. Damon liked experimenting with food; Addie preferred to the small list of things she knew she liked. Elena tried to at least keep track of her sister's eating patterns at dinner but that was a little difficult as there seemed to be some understanding between Addie and Damon that dinner wasn't over until she finished half her plate. It took a two and a half hour dinner that was a battle of wills for her to figure this out. Her motivation and depression was something she used to talk to Jeremy about but that was before his druggie phase and their bond weakened; she probably talked to Damon now. As for her irritation, like Elena had already noted, she was better with everyone else but the littlest things set her off with Damon. Plus, she couldn't even judge by her reaction to Damon because they seemed to make a game of who could annoy the other first. Addie walking away from the door that morning had been declaring a draw!

"I have to disagree," Elena decided, twisting the stem of her apple and pulling it off.

Addie grinned gratefully, "Thank you."

Bonnie scoffed, "No way!"

"Let me finish," said Elena, holding up her hand to silence them. "I believe you are happier because you choose to be happy with him. You think it's safe to trust him with your happiness. I don't think you're more stable though. Damon just acts as a blinder to the rest of us. Just as with your happiness, you trust him to hide when you're not doing well. You're so hurt and angry, which I get, that he's the only one you're willing to let see you vulnerable."

"Thanks for the analysis, Dr. Phil, but I recommend you get your degree from a real school and not AP Psychology before trying to figure me out. I'm a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside of an enigma." Addie's eyes narrowed as she caught Jeremy glaring at them from across the cafeteria. Eager for a subject change she asked, "Why does my brother look like he did when I got the toothbrush stuck in his old Gameboy Pokemon Silver cartridge trying to clean it."

Bonnie followed Addie's gaze and quickly answered, "I told him he had to dress up tonight and he got all uptight."

Addie covered her grin and tried to hold back her snort of laughter, "Oh, I so don't envy him. He can be annoying as sin but one perk I will always have in being with Damon Salvatore is never having to go to these stupid dances."

"You don't need Damon to go! You don't even need to dress up! Come on! You should come," Elena encouraged pleadingly.

"School dance," Addie said holding up one hand. "Or quiet night in the study curled up in front of the fireplace with _Mythology_ because no matter how cool you and Stefan are with cuddling while other people in the house, I'm not?" She raised the other hand and compared them as if they were the scales of justice.

"So party or spit-swapping with your boyfriend," Elena smirked.

Addie shook her head defiantly, "No. Social function where I'll feel awkward and anxious or staying in where I feel happy and cozy _reading_ because, believe it or not, Damon and I do know how to do other things besides kiss."

"Ah," Bonnie nodded, exchanging sympathetic looks with Elena. "Bad kisser."

"It's _Damon Salvatore_. Do you really think he's bad at anything?" Addie scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Elena's eyes widen as she cocked her head at her baby sister, "How much is anything?"

"Is his ego compensating for something?"

Folding her arms on the table, Addie buried her red face in them. She groaned, "I'm not having this conversation."

"Is he taking advantage of you?" Elena demanded sharply.

With a brief look up, Addie gave her sister an icy glare. "Of course not." In truth, she was the one who kept pushing for things to go further and every time he brought up his damn rules. "I've found the only thing he has morals about. I've seen him shirtless and touched his chest; that's as far as he'll go. He hasn't even done anything," she muttered, dropping her face again.

"Good."

"I bet he has a six pack. Does he have a six pack?" Bonnie pondered aloud.

"Sorta," Addie mumbled into the table. "He's definitely toned without an ounce of fat but he's not bulging and rippling with muscles like Stefan, though. He has an amazing v-cut though."

"Hey! I love Stefan's muscles! They're perfect and strong and you know you're safe when you're in his arms." Elena butted in wistfully.

Sitting back up, Addie shrugged disinterestedly, "Different strokes for different folks. Those beautiful blue eyes get me every time."

"Mmm. With eyes like that he probably doesn't even need compulsion if he can get a girl to look into the."

Puzzled, Addie skeptically asked, "Do you have a crush on Damon or something?"

"You're with my little brother!" Elena snapped at Bonnie, speaking over Addie.

Bonnie raised her hands in a gesture of innocence, "Oh, don't worry. I still loathe the guy but I'm not going to deny that he's good looking. You're with his brother and you can't even deny it, Elena.

The only explanation Addie could come up with for some random girl approaching them at that exact moment and sparing her from hearing Elena admit to how gorgeous Damon was had to be that some deity was looking down upon her. She knew enough about her sister's opinions from her diary. Addie hadn't read it in the past three weeks, though. The odd thing was that she didn't care that she hadn't. It didn't appear anywhere around the boarding house but she had not actively looked for it. If there was one thing that was certain it was that Elena was still writing in it. It was odd but for the first time since she could remember, Addie didn't feel like she needed the writings to be connected to Elena and her life. She knew enough and was as close as she wanted to get; she didn't want to know Elena's private opinions.

Addie rested her chin in her hand and reflected on what had been different the past few weeks. She and Elena had been getting along better. When they did occasionally fight it was because Elena was being pushy and bossy and attempting to take on the role of their mother or it was her being overly reactive to how Damon and Elena treated each other, good or bad. If she had never read Elena's diary then she possibly would have never have known how she felt about him and wouldn't have the desire to slap Elena for toying with him and having feelings for the guy she was with. Before, though, when she knew Elena's thoughts on everything, Addie was constantly angry with her; she knew when she was being hypocritical, false and lying. She had been constantly judging her despite the fact that she thought the diary was the only method to feel close to her sister as spending more than two minutes together without fighting was impossible. Now that she wasn't reading it, it was possible.

It wasn't that she liked Elena now. No, she knew too well how manipulative and dishonest she was for that. There was also the fact that they simply did not connect.… Though they had just kind of talked boys, which was probably the closest to a sisterly conversation they had reacted in five years. Perhaps it would be best if she gave up reading the diary all together. Maybe -

"-Klaus."

It was strange how that one world could pull her from such deep thoughts and send her shivering. Addie literally felt cold, like ice filled her veins. It wasn't dissimilar to how she had felt when she had first started drinking Damon's blood in large amounts to heal. She looked at her sister for help in understanding the conversation but Elena looked just as floored as she did.

Elena shook her head slightly, breaking the slight daze she had entered, "I'm sorry. What did you just say?"

"His name's Klaus. I know the name's stupid but I swear he's hot."

Bonnie raised slightly out of her seat and looked around the cafeteria, frantically asking, "Where is he? Is he here?"

"I don't know," the girl frowned and answered slowly.

"Compulsion," Addie grumbled, gently tugging Bonnie by the arm until she was sitting again. "It's useless."

The chipper, annoying smile returned as the girl turned back to Elena and squealed, "He wants to know if you'll save him the last dance! How cute is that?!"

* * *

Not paying attention Addie continued to play with her hair as Bonnie and Elena recounted the incident at lunch to Stefan and Damon. When she heard Stefan respond her interest wasn't exactly peaked but it jumped to attention at the sound of Damon's voice, tough and determined.

"So we go to the dance. We find him. Bonnie takes him out. We all have cake and ice cream."

"Really?" Addie drew out, raising her eyebrows in a challenge. She really wish she could control just one like he could. "How do you plan on doing that? You don't even know what he looks like."

"Something tells me he's not going to be sixteen and pimply," Damon sharply retorted.

Addie's lips pursed together in mock thought, "Technically acne is a medical problem so vampirism would cure that so you are right on the pimples but I'm not so sure about the whole sixteen thing. Katherine could have passed for sixteen despite being 500 and, well, we all know what she's capable of." A beat of silence passed in which she knew Damon was looking for a smart remark. "You know who does know what he looks like? Elijah. Too bad you daggered that option. Then again, we also had Katherine who knew. Probably should have pumped her for more information and possibly a facial composite before someone came along and offered her what looked like a better deal."

"Katherine's drawing is worse than yours," Damon sneered. "Which, incidentally, isn't saying much. You need graph paper to keep the torso of a stick figure from being askew."

"Alas, she need not be able to draw. While the skills of the pen evaded me, I am blessed with a brother for whom a pen is mightier than a sword in his hand," Addie replied mystically, waggling her fingers. Returning to normal the corners of her mouth slightly dipped at the confused look on everyone's face. "How do you think the Unabomber sketch was done? The Baton Rouge Serial Killer? They stopped and posed for a photograph? No, witnesses described them and a resemblance sketch was made."

Damon scowled, "Alright, Ms. Know-It-All. Why didn't you propose that, oh, I don't know, back when Katherine was working with us?"

"Because I apparently have no say in this operation," she snapped back. "It was _your_ choice to dagger Elijah. _You're_ the one who keeps claim-"

Three weeks with their constant back and forth had grown tedious for Stefan. As much as they bickered he knew they weren't arguing. Damon was a yeller; but he's never heard either one of them truly raise their voice. Why on Earth they constantly went toe to toe he wasn't sure but there were more pressing matters at hand and Stefan wasn't in the mood to listen to another round. Raising his own voice enough to cut off Addie he interrupted, "The point is that Klaus could be anywhere at any time. He compelled somebody at _school_." He frowned at Elena and Bonnie, "Guess it's not as safe as you guys thought, huh?"

All heads snapped at the three echoing raps on the door. Looks of confusion and shock were exchanged by all but Damon who reached the door in three long strides. Blood flowed to Addie's cheeks and her stomach churned violently as Damon opened the door to reveal Alaric. She wasn't supposed to have to face the mortal embarrassment of being rude in class and running out until Tuesday!

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, clapping Damon's shoulder as he walked in. Addie felt the sudden urge to flee again when his eyes landed on her. "Good to see you again, Addison. I trust your feeling better."

Addie nodded slightly, finding it hard to swallow past the lump in her throat. "Yes, Mr. Saltzman."

Damon looked curiously between them. "Back to formal titles? Ric, did you stab Addie in the lung again?" he asked darkly, unable to completely hide the teasing element in his.

Quickly Addie walked to Damon and wrapped her arm around his, instantly feeling marginally better. Feeling everyone's eyes on them she made to dismiss the topic by quietly saying, "Alaric's just a little upset with me; I stormed out of class without out any explanation or reason." Turning to the man she forced a strained smile and lied, "Truly I'm sorry. For everything. School, tests, consistency is just all really important to me. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. I had to get to the nurse for my medication since it doesn't really work if I'm panicking. Have you ever tried swallowing water and a pill while gasping for air? It feels really similar to choking."

"I apologize, Addie. If I knew the disruption in the schedule would have distressed you so much I would have discussed it with you beforehand. Please forgive me."

Addie grabbed tighter at Damon. The smile was Alaric's but the sinister _dark_ feeling radiating from it was not something associated with Alaric, or even humans. Her brain was over loaded. She knew Alaric: he was a human with good intentions. The _blackness_ he was emitting was so hollow and pure it made what she read from Katherine seem light gray when she planned to betray them and the initial feeling from Damon and Stefan glow like a bright white halo. But she only sensed these _shades of evil_ from vampires. In the time that he was gone had Alaric been turned into a vampire and had his morals completely flipped? But who would have turned him? Who would have given him a daylight right? None of it made sense. The only thing she was certain of was that Alaric wasn't safe and he shouldn't be trusted, at least not until she sorted out why she felt a darkness from him. Sensing Damon watching her, she nodded.

"Great! Everybody's buddy-buddy again!" Damon rejoiced sarcastically. He swung his arm around Addie shoulder and led Alaric towards everyone else in the living room. To his friend he directed and informed, "I need you to put me down as a chaperon at the dance tonight. Klaus made his first move."

Addie realized they had walked into a conversation when Elena asked, "Okay, so we find him and then what, hmm? What's our plan of attack."

Bonnie waved her hand once in acknowledgement, "Me. I'm the plan. He-"

"No, you're not," Addie interrupted, improvising. A dark thought connecting Alaric and Klaus had occurred to her. He couldn't know the plan and report it back to Klaus.

Damon dropped his arm from around Addie and turned to look at her incredulously. "Did you suddenly come up with a better one?"

"Yes," she answered through gritted teeth, inconspicuously interlacing their fingers and squeezing as hard as she possibly could. The cramp in her hand made her wince.

Seeing that she was hurting herself, Damon pushed and prodded until he could work his thumb in between their hands, forcing Addie to loosen her grip. He studied her carefully, trying to read what she wanted. Her eyes clearly sought his, an action odd itself as he usually had to guide her into direct eye contact. Addie was pleading with him for something. It was only because he saw how important it was to her that he follow when she led him from the living room.

"I need your help in getting what we will need," Addie smiled, pulling Damon towards the basement. She led them down the stairs and stopped in front of Elijah's cell. He opened his mouth but Addie quickly clamped her hand over it and mouthed, "Don't talk." Damon rolled his eyes but when he saw she wasn't going to back down he rolled his eyes and nodded. Her hand slipped around to the back of his neck and pulled him low enough so she could whisper as quietly as possibly, "Can Stefan hear this?"

"No. Addie, what the hell?" Damon quietly answered back in her ear, the breathiness of his breath making his words sound harsher than he meant.

She kissed him softly and cupped his cheek. "What about now?" she murmured, her lips brushing against his.

His arms slipped around Addie's waist, pulled her closer and softly answered with a smirk, "No but you kinda picked a bad time for a secret rendezvous, love. We can skip the victory celebration, though."

"This isn't about that," she hissed. "We have to be quick. Damon, if you… if you truly care about me and trust me you will go back upstairs and tell them we're using Elena as bait to lure Klaus close and then she will try to stake him with a dagger you found getting rid of Dr. Martin's car. He wants her alive so the worse that will happen to her is being disarmed. If she fails, you, Stefan, and Alaric will take him down with the dagger that we remove from Elijah. They'll think it's crazy to undagger him but point out you've already staked him twice and that he's the easier to handle. Before leaving the house you'll make sure he's staked down so he can't come after us when he wakes up, which he won't have time to do. We get home and shove the unused dagger in him. Then we have eternity to figure out how to kill them."

Damon's frown became deeper and deeper the more she talked. "Addie, I more than care about you and I trust you but you're talking nonsense. We don't fly in after _Klaus_ with a team that doesn't know the plan. Why? I mean, what's the point in this?"

"You have to trust me on there being a point," Addie whispered urgently. "Look, we've already been down here too long. There will be time for explanations afterwards and I promise people will know the real plan is Bonnie. Damon, I need you to believe in me. They won't listen to me on my own; you have to spearhead it. You can either grab the dagger from Elijah, pretend it's the second one and stake him to keep him down for the few minutes it out or you not put your faith in me and go back and say it was a stupid plan and we changed our minds."

Addie was already halfway up the stairs when Damon's hand shot out to hers. When she looked at him over her shoulder he begged, "The point?"

"Trust."

* * *

"Well?" Damon asked leaning against one of the post at the foot of his bed, watching Addie as she hung off the edge and read upside down.

Addie decided to finish the paragraph to delay answering. It was very likely that Damon was going to think her crazy. She memorized the page number before scrambling of the bed to fill the room with sounds of the ocean.

He sighed and crossed his arms, "This really is some Secret Service-FBI-CIA-Black Ops mission you're planning."

"'Tell one your thoughts, but beware of two. All know what is known to three,'" she recited, waving _Mythology_ as she sat back down on his bed. "Considering your relationship with… people it might be stupid to pick you as my one but I couldn't exactly screaming and waving my hands at Bonnie to shut up about the plan without being obvious and tipping someone off. If I did that we would all be dead."

Damon pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to push back the frustration he already felt from going along with some unknown scheme. "You're leaving out half the story again," he growled.

"Right. Um, I don't really know where to start," she muttered defeatedly, flopping back against his pillow. Even among all the supernatural Damon was a fairly reasonable person; there was no way he was going to believe in vibes and energies. If she had to be honest, Addie wasn't entirely convinced she wasn't going crazy for believing them. To her credit, she only felt them about certain people and didn't see them walking around in colored auras. But what if she had just started walking the treadmill at one mph before cranking it up to ten and completely losing her sense of logic?

Damon groaned quietly. He was not in the mood for angst or drama or confusion or _emotions_. What he needed to be doing was psyching up for a fight. It had been far too long since he'd been in a good fight. Addie had already said everyone would know the plan was Bonnie (after he got in a few blows, hopefully). He could just go and call everyone and tell them the original plan was back on. But Addie… well, it was times like then when love was a real pain in the ass for making himself. He poked at her side, making her squeal and squirm away from him. "Scoot," he instructed with hand gestures when she stuck out her tongue at him. Damon laid down next to her and tucked his hands behind his head. "Start at the beginning. What triggered you to come to the conclusion to do this?"

Addie clicked her tongue, "Tsk. Beginning is no good. I didn't understand in the beginning. No, I can't go chronologically." They sat listening to the waves for a few minutes before she could sense Damon getting restless. She had to give him _something_. "You know, that was the second time Alaric called me "Addison" today."

"Huh?" he asked with a raised eyebrow of confusion.

"When he called on me in class today he called me "Addison". He has never called me by my full name before."

Damon tried to shrug it off but his response was stiff, "I'm sure it was just a slip of the tongue."

She propped herself up on her elbow to look him in the face. "That doesn't even make sense," she objected. "For that to happen he would have to be around someone frequently calling me "Addison" to associate it with me. People know better than to do that. The only people who get away with it are my family, Bonnie, and possibly Caroline and it is only permissible if I'm being really dense or annoying. You're the only one I kinda like saying it but even you're wise enough not to use it in public." He didn't need to know that by Elijah only ever calling her "Addison" she sort of saw him as more dignified and didn't flinch when he said it.

An arrogant, crooked grin spread across his face as he focused on curling a strand of hair around his finger. "So, you like it when I call you Addison?" he asked smugly.

"I've accepted that you nickname everyone and I've accepted that it is one of the many that you have for me."

"I do enjoy having such a range of names for you." He ticked them off on his finger as he listed them, "Addie, Addison, Ads, my Ads, l-" She made to cut him off but he knew what she was going to say and voiced it for, "Even though you are not a possession or property or anything that anyone but you can own. I don't even mean my 'my' in a possessive way but more in the sense that you are original and no one can replicate the Addie I know…. Good Lord, you're corrupting me into something almost honorable to a woman. And of course 'love'. I do like that one." Damon nodded, looking vacantly at the ceiling, "That might be my favorite, I'm not big on pet names, really. I've only ever had a 'darling' and 'dear'."

Blushing, Addie had buried her cheek between his shoulder and pillow halfway through his list. Muffled by pillow she started, "You're getting off-" She looked quizzically at him, "_You_ used '_darling_' and 'dear'?"

His lips pressed together in a thin line, "I think we both have already recognized how naive and moronic I was with Katherine."

"Ohhhhhh. Pre-vampire. Yeah, I can see that. Still, Alaric calling me 'Addison' made me really uncomfortable," she said, not so smoothly steering back to the important topic.

Running his hand over his face Damon exhaled loudly. "It was a slip of the tongue," he maintained. "I like your name. I probably say it a lot more than I notice when I'm out with him. That's probably where he made the association."

Her face scrunched up in disgust. "You talk about me with him?"

"You talk about me with Bonnie and Caroline and Elena and Jeremy!" Damon shot back defensively.

"I-That's-No," she stammered, "they mostly make assumptions. They bring us up and I play defense and try to change topic. It's not like I sit around talking relationships and boys…. Ok, fine. Today was a _really_ weird day and I kinda did when Elena jumped to the conclusion that you were pressuring me into sex and your chest somehow came into the conversation."

Damon gasped scandalously, "You just broke the first rule of girl talk: don't talk about girl talk, especially to the guys that you talk about."

"I think you're thinking of Fight Club. I understand Fight Club; I like Fight Club. Girl talk is like watching a foreign film without subtitles."

"I know we can't talk about Fight Club but can we talk about the fight tonight?"

Addie nodded and dropped back onto her back, "Yeah. You know Alaric and I don't have the best of histories but the times he said my name today and they way he looked… Damon, I didn't run out of class because of a syllabus change. It was pure instinct and self-preservation unlike anything I ever felt. I felt it kick in the night we met but this was so much stronger. I would have flown out the door when he was here if I wasn't holding on to you."

Damon's words were slow as he tried to wrap his head around the idea, "You're suddenly afraid of Alaric? Addie, do you think he's trying to make a pass at you or something for saying your name and a look?"

"No! I'm hardly that vain. There are just some odd behaviors he showed at school, the use of my name, and this crazy, irrational fear that I need you to keep in mind when I tell you a kind of secret I've been keeping,"Addie said hesitantly, carefully picking her words.

Secrets? She was keeping secrets now? "Ok," he mumbled, tugging at the roots of his hair.

"You wanted to know how I could always tell Elena and Katherine apart and why I was so convinced that Katherine had changed her mind about being with us. I could _feel_ Katherine. The only way I can describe the feeling though is on a black and clear. The darker someone radiates the more deceptive they're being. When I first met her it was like a cloudy grey. My guess is that it wasn't totally dark because she _was_ going to uphold her end of the deal with me and get vampires out of town and her bad intentions were never directed at me. I don't know. It's not an exact science. I wanted my sister far away from you and Stefan because when you guys showed up here it was like a trail of black smoke followed you. When-"

"I don't know what you're getting at but whatever it is, it based on wrong foundations. Is this color thing is associated with evil it's completely whack. Stefan is black smoke while Katherine is cloudy grey! In no universe is Stefan eviler than Katherine. I may have thought it at times but it's _not_ true," Damon scoffed. He could understand her just sensing Elena from Katherine, they were sisters, but the whole color scale reading was just ridiculous.

Addie's hand twitched in Damon's and she had the desire to to pull away. She had known it was going to take some convincing but she had expect it to hurt when he didn't outright believe her. It was like getting the wind knocked out of her. Was this how he felt when she didn't trust or believe him?

"Damon, I know I sound crazy as hell but I need you to listen carefully," she carried on quietly. "The dark feeling comes from _deception_, not how sinister or evil someone is. When Stefan came clean about being a vampire, he changed. Now he only feels like the lightest possible shade of grey there is. However, you were still seemed pretty negative when I found out what you were. Looking back that makes complete sense considering you were hiding the fact that you wanted to unleash a murderous pack of vampires on the town."

Damon exhaled loudly through his nose and huffed, "Are you ever going to let that go? Did I not change? Did I not plan on only saving Katherine?"

The sense of hurt and rejection in his voice was faint and masked by annoyance but Addie could still detect it. Letting go of his hand she moved to rest her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his stomach. She reassured him, "I'm not judging you, Damon. Nor am I holding onto the past. When you agreed to just get Katherine out your darkness became a little lighter. And then when you stuck around to help with the tomb vampires, you were as light as Stefan. My little crush on you wouldn't have been enough for me to save you from the fire. It was that and the combination of how light grey you were. You had changed so much. It wasn't fair that Stefan got to live when you didn't. But it was like right after that moment, suddenly there was no color coming from you; you didn't seem to be lying or bad or whatever these colors really mean. The only other vampire I've been close to and felt that - well, didn't feel anything from is Caroline."

"So now I'm a perky blonde cheerleader who talks too much?"

"Damon!"

"Addie!" he mocked back in the same whiny tone. "You're taking forever to get to your point."

Tilting her head to look up at him she scoffed, "Can you make up your mind? You either complain when I tell the full story or you complain and say I'm leaving out half of it when I tell the short version."

"Jump to how this connects with Alaric," he decided, tapping the tip of her nose with each word.

Addie swatted his and away and bemoaned, "But you're not going to believe me without out all the evidence that leads up to it."

"Try me."

She sighed and pushed herself onto her elbows to look down at him, "The color radiating thing doesn't work with all vampires. I think I need to at least talk to them first. That's why I never picked up on Ana when she planned to use Jeremy and I never talked to the tomb vamps so I couldn't read them. I trust Elijah because he _never_ gave of a sense of darkness or deception, even when talking about the elixir to save Elena. That's why I'm convinced he's our best chance. Rose gave off a hazy mist of grey but by the way she ran when Elijah showed up at Slater's, I'm guessing that was just a thing of self-preservation. I _knew_ I could trust you to help me when I was stupid and got into a deal with Katherine because you didn't give of a black sense of a secret agenda. The readings aren't perfect though. You don't suddenly turn black you're telling day to day lies otherwise I would have know you were going to dagger Elijah. It's the big things, things that make up someone's personality and life that give off shades of color."

"If that's so," Damon said slowly, mulling over what she had told him, "how come I'm clear and Stefan still has grey?"

Briefly Addie supported herself on one elbow so she could run her hand through her hair. Hesitantly she answered, "I've thought about that. Damon, is there any part of your past that you would lie about to me if I explicitly asked?"

"As much as I would like to say yes, no. I've lied to many women but I don't want to lie to you about who I am or was to try and keep you, Ads," he scowled.

She gave him a small smile and nodded, "I think that's why you don't give off any color. Stefan, though, he's… while you're prideful and embracing of who you are, he isn't and I think he wants everyone one to believe that he was the guy with the hero hair. I'm guessing there are parts of his past that he wouldn't admit to."

"You're not wrong," Damon sighed heavily. "Now, Alaric?"

"When I was 12 my dad took me camping in Whiting's Neck cave. We were about 70 feet below the ground and a mile from the one opening to the cave. As all the flashlights turned off I grew to learn the true meaning of darkness. No light from the moon or stars reached us down there. That was the exact same blackness I felt from Alaric today," she finished in a whispered.

Damon caught Addie's cheeks between his hands and rested his foreheads against her and tried not to laugh as he clarified, "You think _Alaric_ is a vampire?"

She pulled his hands away, sat up and scowled, "Don't give me that. I _know_ I sound crazy but something isn't right about him, Damon. Look, I never had these feelings about a _human_ and definitely not him. I see two possible scenarios: he's a vampire or he's Klaus."

"Now, I don't want to make you upset," Damon said cautiously, as if approaching an angry, wounded animal, "but this color thing and sensing dark feeling, is it possible that it's just all in your head? Maybe your medici -"

"I know I'm crazy but this has nothing to do with that," she snapped. "I know this sensing thing makes no sense but the only reason I would feel that from Alaric is because he is going to perform the biggest deception of all time and betray us to Klaus or he is pure evil and Klaus is possessing his body. Both are complete possibilities!" insisted Addie when Damon groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Look, Alaric went AWOL for nearly three weeks, which just so happens to coincide with Klaus making his first move. Who is to say that he wasn't gone learning how to control his thirst during that time? Why would he turn into a vampire? Well he either was force or someone as powerful as Klaus must be able to bribe even the most moral of people. I think my pierced lung says Alaric is necessarily the most noble. As to why he would betray us, Klaus could compel him. Why turn him in the first place though? To have someone with vamp skills in fighting against us and for the sacrifice. Plus, who is _definitely_ going to be in on how we stop Klaus? Our trusted _vampire hunter_."

Damon frowned, shaking his head. This was completely ridiculous but he tried not to sound condescending, "That's an awful lot of work for him to go through."

Addie nodded in agreement, "Yes, it would be much simpler for him to use his witch to put him in Alaric's body. His final use of Isobel was her death so he, as Alaric, would have the excuse of taking a leave of absence in the name of grief while he learned more about Alaric and all of us. He has, or had, Katherine and could get her to give him all the inside details on the Scooby-Doo gang. Katherine didn't know Alaric perfectly though and Klaus couldn't mimic him exactly. When he wrote on the chalkboard it was dramatically different handwriting. The way he spoke and taught and even moved was erratic and strange. Bonnie said his class was awful today and he had no idea what he was talking about. That's not Alaric the history buff. Then he calls me 'Addison'! In what universe does Alaric do that? Klaus is the oldest, darkest, worst vampire in existence; it makes sense that he would emanate true black.

"I couldn't risk Bonnie saying the plan in front of him. Klaus has _always_ been one step ahead. She's meant to be our secret weapon. Her already saying she was the plan already probably tipped him of."

Addie's pillow smelled like cumber melon as Damon's arms wrapped around it and he covered his face with this. He didn't want to believe something so horrible of his _friend_ but he also wanted to believe his girlfriend. She had kept this secret of "sensing vampires" from him because she felt he wouldn't believe her or think her crazy. He didn't want to live up to that it was just that it sounded so ridiculous; he'd never heard of such a thing. Of course, he had never heard of any human being able to resist compulsion. Inspired and as a preventative measure just in case she was right, Damon sat up and pulled out his pocket knife. He flicked it open and motioned for Addie for her to put her free hand in his.

"Now?!" she asked in bewilderment.

"_If_ Klaus is playing _Freaky Friday_ with Alaric it means I'm not safe from being compelled. And, as I've told you, I don't know if vervain is enough to stop an Original. This is my best chance at protecting you so yeah, now."

This was a good sign, Addie decided as she undid her bracelet treated with the protected herb and placed her hand palm up in Damon's hand. He wasn't outright rejecting her theory, and even if he wasn't agreeing with it, he was taking preventative measures.

As her eyes connected with Damon's his lips twitched upward. He knew eye contact made her uncomfortable but he loved staring into them. The dark gray and purple argyle sweater vest made them the color of a tropical storm. "You won't feel a thing," he compelled. Addie nodded. Damon reached over and grabbed a handful of tissues before he rested the tip of the blade in her palm. "Ready?" She nodded again. Swiftly, he drew a two inch cut down the center of the blade, blood swelling around the steel as he went.

Addie definitely felt the piercing and splitting of her flesh and hissed as her eyes watered in pain. "Holy shit," she curse, cupping her hand and filling it with tissues so the blood didn't spill onto the blanket. "Fairly certain the compulsion _didn't_ work!" Addie scowled, too focused on the throbbing in her hand to be happy.

"I'm so sorry, love. I never meant to hurt you. It's just the way the tolerance is built. It will never happen again," he swore. Damon reached for a tissue to wipe the blade before cutting his hand but hesitated. Something wasn't right. Addie's bloody had always smelt sickly sweet but, now, while it still smelled sweeter than any other human he had come across, it wasn't overpoweringly so. It smelt as sweet as a _vampire's_.

Applying pressure to the cut slightly helped the pain but it still hurt. Addie shoved her hand under Damon's face, breaking his focus from the knife. "We're not done, bud. Kinda gonna pass out if I start seeing too much more of my own blood."

"Right," he muttered, making a small cut in his finger, letting the her blood fall into injury. If it was anything like when he had tried to swallow her blood and his throat had begun to constrict and sting, having it in his bloodstream was bound to burn at least as bad as vervain. It didn't; it definitely.

Whether it was nerves or excitement that caused his hand to tremble so badly that she needed to hold it when he held his bleeding finger out to her lips Damon wasn't sure. It was like a nasty blast from the 80s, when his behavior was at it's worst. Or was it exhilarating? It was like he had take a small dose of ecstasy. He could swear he felt every crook and curve of her fingertips as she gently cradled her hand with her uninjured one. Every taste bud was registered as the flat of her tongue pressed against his finger, trying to draw out blood as he had already started to heal. Damon could feel the new skin knitting back together. The she was gone and he felt cold and lonely. He wiped the knife on his jeans and leaned back against his pillows and headboard, watching her through heavy lids. He wanted to say it. He was _Damon Salvatore_; she'd be ok hearing it from him. He was dying to say it. But no; he knew this feeling and he it would pass and he would have screwed everything up. Damon hit his lips and roughly tossed his head back against the headboard and groaned.

"You ok?" Addie asked, looking from mopping up the last of the blood to look at him.

"No," he scowled, grateful he could feel himself returning to normal with the exception of being a little tired. "Yes. I don't know."

Collecting all the the tissues, Addie got up to throw them in the bathroom wastebasket. Returning, she knelt on the bed next to Damon and gently ran her finger through his raven hair. He leaned into her touch and she couldn't help but smile. "What's wrong?"

"We should make sure you really can't be compelled," said Damon, avoiding the answer.

Addie grinned, pressed her forehead to his and started into his ice blue eyes. "Try."

He cupped her face, brushed his thumbs over her cheekbones and instructed, "Don't go to the dance. Stay at home where it's safe."

"I'll be honest," she sighed, sitting back on her knees, "I've thought about it. I don't want a supernatural life. I don't want to face the worst vampire of all time. And unlike everyone else, I bring nothing to the table. Elena's bait. Bonnie's the weapon. You and Stefan are the muscle. And we haven't really discussed Alaric but he was the vampire hunter. I've been trying to stay out of the whole mess from the beginning. The only part I concerned myself with was making sure Elena survives the sacrifice. This doesn't involve that and I'm useless. I _should_ be sitting out of this fight."

"You are _not_ useless," Damon said firmly, lifting her chin with one finger so she would meet his eyes. He tried to compel her again, "Cluck like a chicken."

Her brows furrowed and she knocked his hand away and scoffed, "Have you gone completely mental?"

Damon shook his head and yawned, "No. I definitely can't compel you. Downside is that I can't make you tell me more about reading vampires and Alaric."

She grabbed her pillow and tried to hit him with it but he easily snatched it from her. Addie growled in frustration, "You _have_ gone completely mental! You were going to compel that from me?! Damon, I'm telling you the truth. Do you think I want to be evil or invaded by Klaus? Do you think I would tell you this about your best friend if I wasn't absolutely sure?"

"You're my best friend," he said with a cheeky grin.

Addie replied flatly, "I still want to hit you with the pillow."

"So mean."

"You were going to use compulsion on me!"

"And now, thanks to moi, no one ever can compel you," he replied superiorly. "Though we _might_ have cause a new problem."

"What you talkin' 'bout, Damon," Addie demanded, imitating Gary Coleman's character on _Diff'rent Strokes._

Damon frowned, "Remember how I said your blood smelled sickly sweet, like it would be poisonous? And it turned out it was the first time we tried getting compulsion? Well, when I cut you it still smelled really sweet but not like before. I kinda took a gamble and cut my finger with your blood still on the blade. It was far from poisonous. Think more like psychologically addictive."

"What are you say?"

"You're resistant to compulsion but your blood will no longer act as a poison if a vampire bites you. You'll be more of an all-you-can drink buffet."

It made absolutely no sense for one to cancel the other out. They weren't even logically connected. In fact, it made the whole point of resisting compulsion counter intuitive! She did it so she wouldn't have to rely on vervain for her life but now she still would have to so she wasn't eaten. Addie began to mentally count back from ten as aggravation and stress started to mingle. When she finished she declared, "One crisis at a time. Alaric, then Klaus, then whatever it is that makes me some genetic freak."

"You're not-"

"Alaric! Do you believe me or not?" Addie snapped, not in the mood for one of Damon's pep talks.

Damon ran his fingers through his hair. The truth was the wrong answer and the right answer was lying to her. Maybe he could find a way around both. "We would need a plan. Which premise do you believe more: he's Klaus or he's a vampire."

"Invasion of the bodysnatchers."

"Do your senses come with a plan?"

Addie grimace and shifted awkwardly, "Not a solid one. But like this," she reached out and grabbed _Mythology _and tapped on the cover, "says 'Tell one, but beware of two. All will know with three.' Everyone believes Klaus is some person we don't know until the right time. And we already have that plan we told everyone. However, we don't wait until the last dance that Klaus _says_ he's saving for Elena. Right when we get there, we bribe the DJ to make a dedication from Klaus to Elena."

"Why would we want to do that? Why don't we wait until the last dance? The school will be less crowded," pointed out Damon.

"Klaus isn't going to attack when he says he is! He's smart and he'll try to catch us off guard. With the dedication we make it known to him that we're ready to play his game. We tell _no one_ that we're doing the dedication though. You compel some kid and then go talk to Alaric about it. You tell him you're ready to get the show rolling. Then you stay as far away from him as possible since he can compel you. My fear is that he is going to compel you for the dagger. We need to take the one from Elijah."

"Not happening."

She grabbed his hand and begged him to understand, "Damon, I talked to Elijah. After you staked him to the wall it took about six hours for him to wake up. We can safely take the dagger from him, stake him to the floor, and then put it back in well before six hours."

She hadn't gotten to the part about taking out what she that was Klaus inside Alaric. The only real plan they had come up with was getting Bonnie in a room with Klaus. So far, if he went along with Addie's plan, that could still happen. It was actually a good idea to let Klaus know they were ready to dance; it would speed up a long night. That lamppost had stopped Elijah for awhile. Damon concede, "Ok, so I have a dagger. I guess this is a suicide mission for me? Dying for the sake of true family. I'm so noble. What about the second dagger we told them about?"

Addie smirked mischievously, "Who says all the daggers need to look alike?"

"Do I even want to know?" sighed Damon, feigning exasperation.

"Uh, yeah because it's totally badass," she scoffed and rolled her eyes. Proudly she said, "I just happen to have a kaiken that looks to be dated around the same time as the dagger."

"You have a giant sea monster that's going to eat Klaus?"

"A _kaiken_, you twit, not a kraken. It's a Japanese dagger."

Through narrowed eyes Damon peered at her and shook his head incredulity, "Who are you?"

She scowled, "I told you I did a year of Japanese sword fighting. That one goes to Stefan. Alaric/Klaus is less likely to ask him to see it. We tell Stefan that he has the dagger because in all reality, you two have a better chance of daggering Klaus than Elena ever does. We tell Elena she'll get the dagger later because she's not going to walk into a fight unarmed. However, Elena will never be more than five feet from Bonnie meaning she's always armed."

"Uh-huh. And how do we fight Klaus _really_?"

Playing with the dangling moon and stars of her belly button ring had become a regular thing for Damon when he snuggled her at night, when she did her best thinking. Addie found herself doing it more and more frequently when she need to sort something out. She dropped the charms and whispered, "Me."

"You? _You're_ going to fight Klaus?"

Addie inhaled deeply, preparing for the fight, "No, I'm going to lead Alaric/Klaus to the fight. We need him to think that he is still your best friend and you have complete trust in him. The best way to do that is for you to leave my safety with him."

"No! Hell no! That's ridiculous! You don't even want to go to the dance! If Klaus is somewhere, you should be on the opposite side of the freaking globe!" exclaimed Damon, shaking his head emphatically. It wasn't that he had a problem with the plan, everything could still work out, he had a slight problem trusting anyone but himself to protect her but Alaric would be his second choice next to Stefan. His problem was her being near the fight!

"Damon, Alaric/Klaus is going to know something is up if you don't give him some role that you think is important to play. I'm _not_ not his target! Elena will be with Bonnie. It makes sense if I worry about my sister and want to find her. I convince them that we shouldn't have a showdown in a crowded gym. I lead them to… the hall by the trophy case. I tell Bonnie Alaric is Klaus and she attacks."

_Or I have Bonnie lock you in a classroom_. If he got Addie out of the way early enough, she wouldn't be there when Klaus showed up. Even with Addie's plan to bait him, Klaus wouldn't rush to make his move. No, the kind of reputation he had didn't come from brutality or bloodshed; it came from torture. He would watch them squirm first. "No. You're not coming."

"She's my sister!"

"It's Klaus!

"You need me for the plan!"

"No, I need you safe. If something happened to you, I would _never_ forgive myself. When you live for eternity that's a long time!"

"How do you think I would feel if I didn't do everything in my power to help my sister?!" Addie snarled back.

Feeling his temper start to rise, Damon took a deep long breath before trying to reason, "The best way you can help her is by staying back. Addie, if you're there my focus is going to be primarily on keep _you _safe. Elena will be second. Without you, she'll be my focus."

After a long time of consideration, Addie came up with the only comeback that would make him crave. "Would you stay back if the situation were reserved and Stefan's life was at stake?"

* * *

"I don't know who I hate more: you for making me dress up or Katherine for buying this damn thing," Addie hissed at Damon as they waited for Stefan and Elena to catch up. She tried pulling the bright mini dress covered in swirls of red, orange and yellow down again but that just made the scooping neckline too low. The open, flowing sleeves blocked her view when she tried to see if she had raise the neckline enough. "Ugh! Who the hell designed this stupid decade?"

Laughing Damon adjust her wide orange headband. He wanted to kiss her but he knew that wouldn't fly so he settled for a quick squeeze of the hand and reminded her of what he already knew, "You look perfect. You're _mini _dress is longer than some guys jeans. Trust me, you're beautiful. Although, neon orange Converse were the 80s and 90s."

Addie stepped closer to him and stood on the tip of her toes to point an authoritative finger in his and whispered dangerously, "I'll have you know that by the 1960s 90 percent of professional basketball players were wearing Chuck Taylor Converse All Stars. Don't mock the Cons."

"Have you ever considered you have an unhealthy relationship with your shoes?"

"I'm a girl," she shrugged dismissively.

Damon laughed, "Doesn't that mean you should be obsessed over Jimmy Choos and Lucchese and the like?"

Addie blinked at him blankly, "I can honestly say that I have never heard those words. Of course, I've never heard of John Varvatos, Balmain, and Fendi before I met you. Have you ever considered that you have an unhealthy obsession with high fashion?"

He smirked and whispered just low enough to hear, "You can't disagree it's worth it. Don't look at the tags in those shirts and boxers you find _so_ comfortable to sleep."

With a sharp turn on his heel, Damon began to walk into school. Addie tilted her head quizzically when he stopped to greet Bonnie and Jeremy for a brief second. Instinct told her to pull away when she felt someone's arm loop through hers until she turned and saw her sister.

"Damon already go inside?"

"Mmm. He is supposed to be stopping underage drinking, hanky panky, fights and general bad behaviors," Addie confirmed as they approached their brother and friend.

Stefan chuckled, "I think they need a better way of picking chaperons. Those are Damon's tenants of life and he's most likely encouraging all that.

"Hey you too!" Elena beamed. "You look great!"

Bonnie and Elena hugged as Jeremy pulled his sister into a bone crushing embrace. "You dressed up! In a dress!" he laughed.

"I am not above planting a big red lip shaped lipstick stain on your cheek," threatened Addie.

Pulling away her brother shook his head and clarified, "No, no, you look great. It's just… well, you must _really_ like Damon because I know you didn't decide this on your own."

"He's helping save Elena; the least I can do is humor him," Addie muttered defensively. "Let's party, people," she said, clapping her hands in false excitement.

As the five of them pushed through the throng of people Addie trailed in the back clutching tightly at her brother's hand. It was strange; she could feel ecstatic being pushed and shoved in a mosh pit among strangers but thrown into into an almost identical situation minus the anonymity her anxiety flared up. She was grateful when they stopped in front of the stage; it wasn't too crowded due to the blaring speakers. Addie's breath caught in her throat when the same girl who had approached them at lunch got up on stage and spoke into the microphone.

"Thanks for being here, everybody. We have a special shout-out tonight. This is for Elena from Klaus."

The girls exchanged worried looks though Addie's was for an entirely different reason. Resolving to push her panic aside, Addie began to rationalize. Coincidences happened. It really shouldn't be shocking that it was the same girl. Addie was pretty sure she was on the dance committee with Caroline. Of course there was a limited number of people with stage access, limiting who Damon could compel. Of the hundred of students Klaus could have picked, Addie doubted he intentionally picked someone with clearance to go onto the stage just to do a shout out. That was definitely _their _shout out. The bait had been set.

A frown covered Elena's face as she turned back from looking around the room and worried, "I know everyone here."

As much as she was getting along with her sister Addie still couldn't resist rolling her eyes at this. _Of course Saint Popularity knows everyone._

"Maybe he's not here and just wants us to think he is," Stefan said hopefully.

Spying Damon and Alaric/Klaus off on the sideline Addie bit her lip nervous before quickly turning it into a smile. Fear and anxiety were not options that night. She turned towards her siblings and friends and raised her eyebrows up and down suggestively, "Only thing we can do is let him come to us." She pushed Stefan and Elena towards the crowd of students jerking wildly. "It's a party, people. Blend!"

"You've been spending too much time with my brother," said Stefan, nevertheless taking Elena's hand and leading her to the dance floor.

Bonnie nodded and took Jeremy's arm, "Good idea."

"No, no, I really don't feel like dancing," he groaned.

"Too bad."

Addie stuck her tongue out at her brother and mockingly sang, "Sucks for you." As Bonnie dragged him away in a deep voice she mimicked his words from earlier, "_I know you didn't decide this on your own."_

When everyone one was busy dancing, Addie skirted around the edge of the dance floor, still having to bob and weave through couples. Even though he was still talking to Alaric/Klaus, a wave of relief washed over her when she spied Damon grinning at her. She took the last few steps quickly. As she passed Alaric to reach Damon she felt a powerful urge to just keep on walking but forced herself to stay. Covertly interlacing her fingers with Damon's gave her a little solace.

"You sure that's wise here?" asked Alaric/Klaus, nodding to their joined hands.

Addie's head snapped up to look at Damon for his reaction; Alaric would never have asked that.

For a second he didn't respond and just stared at the other man through narrowed eyes. Dropping her hand Damon shook his head, "No, you're right." Addie jumped in surprise when she felt his arm wrap tightly around her waist, pulling her in close to him. "I think _this_ is what I meant to do."

While the display was too intimate for the setting and Addie wanted to pull away, she found that the safety she felt against him outweighed the embarrassment.

Alaric/Klaus shoved his hands in his pocket and rocked on his feet, much like he had in class. Conversationally he observed, "Special dedication, huh? This guy's a little twisted."

Addie couldn't hold back, "You didn't get twisted from the whole innocent human sacrifice part? It'd be one thing if he was sacrificing a sociopathic, serial killing werewolf, vampire, and human; reap what you sow and that. Elena hasn't done anything worth being killed over. Although, personally, in my mind I'm giving him the credit of using a really nasty vampire and evil werewolf. If karma has a say she might just be in a kennel right now for what she did to Damon and Rose."

"Getting a little intense," whispered Damon, squeezing hip comfortingly.

"Why would you even give him that credit?"

"Because I apparently have a problem giving credit to the bad guys. First Katherine, then Damon. In my defense, it _has_ worked out to my benefit. Maybe it will with Klaus. Everyone needs someone to believe in them."

Unconvinced Damon scoffed, "How did you possibly benefit from working with Katherine?" He saw her blush as she quickly squeezed his hand and leaned further into him. "Ohhhhh," he grinned in understand. He quickly kissed the top of her head before turning his attention back to Alaric, "Twisted or not, he definitely doesn't impress me."

"No?" he replied, a faint look of disappointment on his face.

Damon shook his head, "Nope. What's a shout out supposed to do? Make us edgy? We already know he's gonna be here. For the baddest vampire of all time he thinks pretty small on the manipulation scale."

"Well what would you have done?"

If Damon had any sense or really believed her then he would hopefully not answer that.

"Go nuclear. You have a room full of puppets. Killing them would be stupid and wasteful but using them for mind games better than a _shout out_. No, the best way to torment us would-"

Hoping to stop him Addie played the one card she particularly hated using on Damon: guilt. It was just that she couldn't have him giving Klaus any ideas. She stepped lightly on his foot, pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, looked up at him with pleading, watery eyes and whispered, "Damon, please… I know that… The dark thoughts-"

"Shh, shh. I'm sorry," he said quietly, brushing at her wet cheeks. "He's just a threat to you and your happiness; that sends me to a bad place." Before she even realized what he was doing and could object, he was pulling her towards the dance floor, over his shoulder he called to Alaric, "Let me know if you see anything out of whack."

When he found a spot on the edge of the crowd that was fairly clearly Damon held out his hand. Addie raised her eyebrows in disbelief, "Uh, no. I don't"

"Miss Mystic Falls," he countered, taking her hand and settling the other on her waist. "I've seen you dance."

"I didn't _want_ to do that and I don't _want_ to do this," she grumbled, settling her hand on his shoulder anyways.

Every bit of her was so tense he could almost feel her shaking from the strain. Damon's thumb skimmed down her hand to rest over her racing pulse and frowned. "How ya' doing?" he murmured, wishing he could just pull her into his arms.

Addie hummed in consideration. "Mmm…. Well, I've decided to suppress any anxiety fear and panic for the night so right now I'm ok but I'm going to have a major cry when I let all those surface and have an emotional overload when this is all over."

"Well, I'll buy more Kleenex on the way home," he shrugged, squeezing her waist. "Orrr," he drew out contemplatively, "because I like you so much, I'll let you use my t-shirt, which we both know is way softer than the softest of tissues."

"I'm not getting snot on a million dollar shirt."

Damon snorted, "Love, even I wouldn't blow a that much money on a shirt. But I promise they don't mind a few tears and snot. There is this magical thing called a washing machine that they have a really fun time going through and they come out even cleaner than when I bought them."

"You're a dork," she laughed. As Damon watched her eyes flicker from his lip to over his shoulder repetitively, his eyes darkened. Staring at his lip she breathed, "I just want this to be over and to go home."

"I know."

"How are you?"

"I just want this to be over and to go home," echoed Damon, quickly removing his hand from her waist to brush his thumb over her lips. "And now I'm doubting this whole plan."

Addie scowled at Damon when he spun her as she tried to break away. Knowing she sounded like a petulant child, she resumed dancing and pouted, "Why are you doubting the plan?"

Pale lids covered his beautiful blue eyes and his head tilted back. He _couldn't _look at her when he confessed, "I honestly didn't believe you about Alaric. No, I believed in you but I just didn't want to believe that it was true; that you had made a mistake. I only went with the plan because it was still possible to get Bonnie and Klaus together."

"What made you believe me?"

"Talking to Alaric just now. Something isn't right about him. The way he reacted to you and us holding hands. Not to mention that before you came over he was asking a lot of questions about us and specifically about you. A lot of them were things we had already discussed and given your feeling I decided to answer with lies and he never called me out on them. There are three things I know: something is off about him, he's far too nosy about you, and I'm not comfortable with trusting him with your safety," listed Damon. Despite her squeals of protest, he dipped her and grinned at the small smile on her face.

When he brought her back up, Addie shook her head firmly and determined, "Plan remains as is. You agreed to do the my way and I'm cashing in on that now."

"Of course," he grumbled, spinning her away from him. Before she could completely stumble over her feet he had already twirled her back into his arms. "Whatever you want, Ads."

It was obvious how annoyed and upset he was to her so Addie tried to lighten the mood and teased, "You're good at this. I expected you to be a duck out of water."

"Oh,love, I've got moves you've never seen," he slyly smirked suggestively.

* * *

Despite being with Damon and on the edge of the crowd, Addie still felt uncomfortable around so many people. She had been surprised when Damon had let her go off to join up with Elena at the punch bowl without any fuss.

"Where's Stefan?" inquired Addie, sliding up next to her sister.

As a nervous tic Elena flicked at the rim of a cup. "Telling Caroline about the Klaus situation. And Damon?"

Not really sure, Addie looked over her shoulder only to come face to face with her scowling brother. Through clenched teeth she could distinguish, "Dancing with my girlfriend."

Addie strained to look over his shoulder and, sure enough, she saw exactly what he had said. Why was Damon with Bonnie? Was he jumping the gun and telling her about Klaus being Alaric _now_? That was not in the plan! It was completely irrational. The fewer who knew the better.

Squinting, Elena's eyes narrowed as she tried to read her little siblings. Growing up with them had allowed her to learn most of their tells when they were lying, "What are they up to?" she demanded.

Sensing Elena's eyes on her Addie shifted uncomfortably and huffing, tried to sound slightly jealous and insecure, "I don't know."

Elena turned to her brother; if Addie didn't know something, surely he did. "Who knows?"

There was a lifelessness in his voice reminiscent of before Damon compelled away his pain. Addie looked to Elena but she didn't seem to have noticed. Having already lost her brother down a dark path once, Addie wasn't going to let it happen again. She took his hand and tried to pull him towards the gaggle of students, "Since our - well, _technically_ Damon isn't my date - but since our respective partners seem to be more interested in dancing with each other, we shall dance."

"Neither of us even wanted to come to a stupid school dance and we both hate dancing," Jeremy reminded, digging his heels into the laminated gym floor.

Knowing how to manipulate her brother, Addie's eyes narrowed as she turned to face him and warningly growled, "I _know _but I'm costumed in the most hideous dress ever made in attempt to _be social_ and _be normal _and another part of those protocols is dancing in that massive, sweaty mob where people get way up in my personal space even if it it brings up my anxiety. Exposure therapy. As my brother and best friend, you should be supporting me in every way you can. As of right now _Damon_ has been more supportive than you."

"You know, it's a good thing you're a very good and moral person," Jeremy remarked as they made their way into the crowd. "You could very easily make for an excellent super villain. I think that's just another reason you and Damon work; you're the light to his dark and he's the light to your dark."

Resting her hands on his shoulders Addie considered this. There were her depressed periods and it wasn't a secret that she could be moody and irritable. Plus, she wasn't like everyone else; she wasn't throwing herself into this supernatural stuff to get moonstones, extract information from enemy witches, and the like. Except for tonight when it came to her sister's life or death, she wasn't trying to stop the bad guy. She wondered, "Don't you think I'm dark enough without Damon?"

"For you I mean dark as in risk taking and edgy. Pre-Damon you would never have skipped school, been in a relationship, come to a dance, especially dressed up, nor would you have ever seen the good in someone with such a bad reputation and have been bold enough to stand up to him, to argue with him, to not let him push you around." He smirked and tugged her hair like he did when they were kids fighting, "My baby sister is growing up."

"We're not that far apart in age," objected Addie, feeling belittled.

"No, but I grew up a lot faster when I took the road of sex, drugs and alcohol after Mom and Dad. You stayed innocent, pure."

Idly Addie turned up Jeremy's collar and fixed it repetitively. Grimacing she asked, "Why does everyone think that?"

"Who else did?"

"Damon."

Jeremy snorted and failed in his attempted to hold back a chuckle, "Well, that's coming from someone whose soul is black."

The darkness radiating from Alaric came to mind and she flicked Jeremy hard on the shoulder. She snapped, "Don't say that."

"I don't mean any offense. It just that to him you are probably the poster child for good."

"Unfortunately, you have that right," she mumbled. No matter what excuses he told her, Addie was fairly certain the reason Damon wouldn't go any further was that he still saw her as too young. Reflexively, with her mind on him, her eyes searched for him. If Bonnie and Damon dancing was awkward, the serious conversation it looked like they were having was just plain disturbing. Studying Jeremy, Addie recollected that he had seem particularly upset when he had informed her of their dates' activity. Damn it! Damon was right about her having a problem staying focused. The whole reason she had made Jeremy dance was because he was clearly lying when he told Elena that he didn't know what Bonnie and Damon were up to. Speaking strongly she ordered, "Tell me what's going on, Jer. Are you ok?"

"Fine, I'm fine. Everything is fine," he answered, his voice the tiniest bit higher than usual.

Addie gave a look that clearly conveyed she didn't believe him and re-informed him, "I'm not Elena; you can't get away with lying to me. I know you, Gilbert."

"You know, the whole last name thing is a lot less meaningful when we share the same one."

"Don't get snarky with me," she warned. "I do the snaky in this family. And your role is being the person I can turn to and trust. What are you hiding from me?" He didn't answer. Frowning, Addie reviewed his odd behavior again. "It has to do with Bonnie, doesn't it? And Damon, too? So, my brother, my best friend, and the guy I'm dating, the three people I should be able to trust the most, are all keeping something from me? What the hell is going on?" demanded Addie, the loud music covering the slight rise in her voice.

"I can read you just as well as you can read me. You're lying about the dagger plan. I don't know why but you are," Jeremy accused, leading Addie to a sparely populated corner. "What I don't know is if Bonnie is in on your lie or not. Guessing by her little chat with Damon, she is."

Addie shook her head quickly; she didn't want their relationship on the rocks because of something she did. Quietly she confessed, "You're right. The dagger plan is a false trail. There is no second dagger and we can't undagger Elijah. _I_ got Damon to go along with it so don't be mad at him. But Bonnie, she has absolutely no idea that the plan is to still use her and she won't until the very last second. I _know _who Klaus is and because of who he is people can't be trusted to know the real plan."

"Addie, it doesn't matter who the fuck Klaus is!" Jeremy cried, throwing his hands up in frustration. "If Bonnie takes on Klaus, channeling all that energy is going to kill her." It felt _really_ good to not be the only one burdened with that secret.

"What?" Addie asked slowly, trying to both register what her brother was saying and come up with a new plan. "Bonnie was gonna… No! No! Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?1"

"She didn't want you and Elena to know 'cause if you guys did, you'd try and stop her. I can see it in your eyes that you're already trying to think of a way out of this with everyone alive. I've been trying that for _weeks. _You don't stop her, she dies. You do, Elena does. What are we supposed to do?" asked Jeremy hopelessly.

Addie's lips pressed together in a thin, angry line as she glared at Damon and Bonnie dancing. Her face softened when she saw Jeremy's red nose and watery eyes, though her anger didn't ebb. Squeezing Jeremy's upper arm got him to focus on her and all she could do was hope that he would listen when she said, "You're going to go to the hall and take a breather. I'm going to go be angry and then figure out a solution."

Without waiting for Jeremy to respond Addie began to march over to Bonnie and Damon, who were still dancing. How _dare_ that smug, arrogant, asshole keep something this big from her! While she could understand where Bonnie had been coming from with her big, selfless heart, that didn't mean Addie wasn't still pissed at her.

As Damon saw Addie approaching he beamed and held out his to her, "Ooo! Changed your mind about hating dancing and have come to check out my legendary skills."

"Hardly," she sniffed, swatting his hand away. "You _promised_ me no more secrets."

Damon pursed his lips and tried not to look too uncomfortable. He went with nonchalantly shrugging, "I changed my mind." Leaning towards Bonnie he cupped his hand around his mouth as if to tell a secret and asked in a mockingly politely voice, "When you blabbed to your boyfriend did it ever occur to you that he would, you know, tattle to his sister?"

Defensively Bonnie shot back, "He promised he wouldn't."

"See? It's not just me. Guys just simply aren't capable of keeping promises."

Addie put a hand out to Damon, indicating for him to be quiet. "I'm not talking to you. I'll deal with you later. In the meantime, start coming up with a new plan."

"So bossy! Not even a please," Damon huffed, stalking off.

The icy look Addie gave Bonnie was unlike none before. When she told Bonnie to follow her, the witch didn't hesitate. Despite the younger girl's statue, with her anger and strength she could probably drag the witch wherever she wanted unless Bonnie turned her magic against her best friend. Addie led them over to the drink table where Elena set down the cups she was holding as she took in Bonnie's uneasy face and her sister's pissed off one.

"What's going on?" Elena cautiously questioned.

Addie crooked a finger at Elena, indicating she should follow. "We need a little girl talk," Addie gritted out, continuing towards the exit. The other girls followed her outside and gave her a confused look when she jumped to sit on top of the picnic table. "Don't look at me like that!" Addie sneered at Bonnie. "You know _exactly _why we're."

"Addie! What the hell has gotten into you?" Elena chastised. "We're looking at you crazy because you don't do _that_ in a dress, especially not one that snags on splinters."

Addie rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. Her sister was so short sighted. "We have bigger problems than my lack of fashion knowledge nor do we have the time to educate me on how to be a proper girl! The dagger Stefan _was_ going to give you, I'm assuming Damon is telling him the plan is off, is the one I used for Japanese sword fighting. Trust me, it can't take down Klaus. That leaves the one dagger that we _really_ need to put back into Elijah before he wakes up and starts ripping hearts out. Basically, the whole dagger plan was smoke and mirrors."

"For what? Why would you do that? My God, Damon has you playing his stupid games now doesn't he!"

"It was _my_ plan and I can't tell you why I did it. Not yet. It's not safe. But basically we have no way to take down Klaus and he's here to kill you."

"_I_ can take him down," Bonnie interrupted.

Simultaneously Elena interjected, "What about Bonnie?"

Addie crossed her arms and glared at the witch, "Not happening. Tell Elena what _will_ happen if you take him on."

"Ad-"

"Tell her or I will," she growled.

Bonnie glared at her, "Damon's right about you being bossy."

Deciding they didn't have time for nonsense chitchat, Addie decided to spill, "Bonnie dies if she kills Klaus."

"What?!" If it weren't such a serious situation, she would have loved to have taken a picture of Elena's jaw hitting the floor. "Is she telling the truth?" Bonnie nodded. "How could you not tell us?"

"'Cause I knew you'd react like this," the witch bit back defensively.

Beginning to pace, Elena shook her head, "No. No way. It's not an option."

"It's our only option."

With an accusatory finger towards Bonnie Addie snarled, "You don't get a say. Maybe if you had spoken up, oh, I don't know, when you figured this out then we might have had time to come up with an actual plan!"

Elena came to a halt, looked between the other two girls and agreed, "Addie's right. She's a little upset and has forgotten how to be nice but she's right. We'll find another way, ok? Bonnie, you're not dying to save my life."

"I have the power to save you!" insisted Bonnie. "If I don't use it and something happens, that would kill me more."

"I can't let you."

Addie scoffed and sarcastically added, "Don't you even care where that would leave _me?_ A dead sister and emotionally dead best friend?"

Elena caught her sister's cheeks between her palms, squishing them and spoke slowly, "I'm making you aware of this for your own good. You and Damon spend far too much time together. It's toxic. On that note, does he have a plan?"

"Well, I could call and ask him but that's a way of spending time together and apparently I shouldn't do that because it's toxic," mocked Addie, sticking her tongue out at Elena.

"Damon's plan is _me._ I'm going to do it. I'm going to take down Klaus," Bonnie maintained.

Addie shook her head sadly, "It's a shame I'm going to have to kill my boyfriend for essentially throwing my best friend to the hungry lion."

"Both of you just answer one question: if the situation was reversed, would you do it for me?" challenged Bonnie

Elena was silent.

Addie inhaled sharply and sighed, "No."

"Well, no offense but it's no secret that you aren't the best at understanding how relationships and social codes of conduct work so your answer is voided."

"I know," Addie spoke loudly over Bonnie, "that I would give you guys all the time possible to find an alternative solution before sacrificing myself because, damn it, Bonnie, it's just down right selfish of you to make us live without you." She tilted her head back and tried to blink back the tears. There was no way she was going to let Elena and Bonnie see her cry.

The witch tried to use Addie's own favorite weapon against her:logic. "But in the end, if it came down to it, which it has, you would do it. You guys know why I have to."

"No. No!" Elena exclaimed.

Addie hopped off the table, dread and fear washing over her as she watched Alaric/Klaus and the darkness he carried running towards them. Seeing the younger girl's face pale, Bonnie and Elena followed her line of site. They were anxious to see the man rushing to them but their eyes lacked the same frightened look of Addie's midnight blue ones. Pre-revelation, this was the point where she revealed his true identity but she couldn't do that now; Bonnie would kill herself.

"Elena! Addie!" Alaric/Klaus panted eagerly, when he was close enough.

Frantically Elena asked, "What is it?"

"He has Jeremy."

All other words failed to registered to Addie. One word played like a broken record in her mind: trap. And they were alone. They didn't even have the vampire skills of Damon and Stefan to protect them. Damon. There was only one useful fashion tip her sister had ever taught her and while Addie had always found it stupid and vowed not to use it, she was so grateful her gut had to her to rather than leaving it with Damon like usual. Before she could even register what she was really doing, Addie had already whipped her phone out of her bra and had it pressed to her ear.

"Are you ok?" Damon answered on the first ring.

Even though he couldn't see her, Addie shook her head. She knew she had to play Klaus's game as long as possible, hopefully Damon had a plan. "Klaus has Jeremy," she said, hoping that he would figure out that Alaric was leading them into a trap. It was then that she noticed that the other three weren't by her anymore. Panicking, her eyes scanned for Bonnie and Elena.

"Addie!" Alaric/Klaus called from a side door, waving that she should enter.

Damon was quick to answer and sounded extremely frustrated, "I know but I don't know where!"

There was a reason Addie was the only freshman on the varsity track team and she could have reached Alaric\Klaus in two seconds flat but she had to hope he thought making it in six was an honest effort.

One…. They were past the gym.

Two…. There was no light coming from the door he held open so it wasn't attached to the main halls.

Three…. Janitor closet. No, storage room.

Four…. Where were they and where did that lead?

Five…. Barely audible she muttered into the phone, "Trophy case," and end the call just before reaching Alaric/Klaus.

Six…. "Klaus has your brother and you're making phone calls?"

"Elena has _one_ dagger! One shot to save my brother! I'd thought I'd call the guy with the muscles and other dagger to more than double our chances! So, yes. If it saves his life I'm making a ten second phone call. This," she snapped, gesturing to him and herself, "is wasting time. Where do we go?!" Addie wasn't certain where her guts had suddenly come from as she still wanted to run away from the black and hide but she knew that she would never be able to live with herself if something happened to her sister or Bonnie and she wasn't there. She knew she was useless but she believed _everyone_ should die feeling loved. She'd wanted to so many times for _not_ feeling that way.

Alaric/Klaus nodded, "You're right. This way." He led them past a stack of old textbooks and an ancient computer to the hallway.

The knot in Addie's stomach loosened a little when she saw the trophy case at the far end; she was right. Though, she really hoped the confusion on Elena and Bonnie's face when she had mentioned the dagger wasn't as obvious to him as it was to her.

"Ok," Elena hesitated, slowly slightly. Addie couldn't resist the eye roll as she tried to pull her sister along. Of course she would pick _now_, when they were alone with a locked and loaded Bonnie and Klaus, to catch on. "So, where are you taking use."

"Just a little bit further," Klaus answered, continuing to walk.

The girls took a few more steps before Elena stopped them. "Wait, something's not right."

"Where's Jeremy?" demanded Bonnie.

Addie smacked her forehead with her palm and shook her head in dismay. "You guys have really bad timing."

Klaus stopped walking and laughed, turning around to face them. He smirked and wagged a finger at Addie, "Oh, but it's perfect timing, Addison. I just had to get away from that dance." He pretended to shudder. "The sixties, ugh. _Not_ my decade." He laughed again and Addie noticed it was higher than Alaric's. "I mean, whose call was that, anyway? I much prefer the twenties. The style, the parties, the jazz."

"Alaric," Elena said slow and cautious, "are you on vervain?"

"Now why would you ask me that question, Elena?"

Addie scoffed and mocked, "Yeah, Elena. Don't be dense. Why would a big bad vampire like Klaus need to be on vervain? It barely even does a thing to Elijah."

"Klaus!" Elena exclaimed at her sister. "You've lost it."

A clap of the hands drew all their attention back to Klaus who was grinning broadly. He pretended to pout and whined, "_Addison!_ We were having so much fun! You ruined the big surprised! I was going to get to do the reveal. Fair enough though, you were the one to figure out it was Colonel Mustard in the ballroom with the candlestick," he finished in a refined English accent. "Though, I know you shared that little secret with your lost little puppy."

"No," Elena whispered, pulling her very pale sister behind her, "it's not possible."

Klaus raised and lowered Alaric's hand in a motion that suggested calming down. "Just relax, Elena. I'm not here to hurt you. You're not on my hit list tonight. Your precious baby sis, well, she _did_ win the game but she _was_ very enthusiastic about falsely daggering me. FYI my hearing's better than a normal vampires, kinda like everything else about me."

"Grrreat," Addie drew out sarcastically. "One psychotic, serial killing, narcissistic vampire _obviously_ wasn't enough so the universe decided to send another one. No, wait." Addie smiled falsely at her sister, "_You_ drew them here."

Casually Klaus leaned against a locker and pretended to inspect his nails for dirt while taunting, "I suppose it's lucky for me that you like psychotic, serial killing, narcissistic vampires and tend to give them credit, eh?"

"Yeah," agreed Addie, "but it's lucky for me that I see no hope of redemption once they kill my friends or bleed my sister to death." Ok, that wasn't entirely true as Damon had killed her brother but he _did_ come back to life and Bonnie would have died when he attacked her after Emily destroyed the crystal if Stefan hadn't been two feet away. But both those directly linked to Katherine and he turned into an idiot when it came to her but he was different now.

"Perhaps I have no use for you, then. We'll see how I feel after I take care of her," Klaus replied, lowering his head and starting towards Bonnie. In a flash her hand was up and Alaric's body was slamming into the top off lockers. Klaus slid to floor but was quickly back on his feet and grinning mirthlessly, "No, did I mention that I knew a witch? You're gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that." He began to rush at her but she repeated the motion. That time Bonnie must have used much more magic as Klaus went sailing down the hall and smashed through the trophy case. The tinkling of glass dropping could be heard as he fell to his knees. "By all means," he laughed, "Fire away." After the second hit he was a little slower getting to his feet. "If you kill this body, I'll just get a new one. Maybe Jeremy," he threatened.

"Go," Bonnie ordered, pushing both her friends by the shoulder, "Run. Run!"

Quickly all three girls turned and ran down the adjacent hallway. Using her magic Bonnie locked the blue double doors that allowed the passage. The pair of door opposite them burst through at nearly the exact same time. Feeling her heart leap and her leg spasm just as it had at the track meet, she pushed through the pain and to Damon. He rocked slightly backward with the force she knocked into him with. His hug was tighter, harder than usual but that was just what she needed: his strength.

Burying her face where his neck and shoulder met, Addie bit back a dry sob. In slight disbelief and amazement she whispered, "You found me."

"Just barely, it seems. You know there's a sports trophy case and an academic one? Well, you'd think after waiting 500 years he could wait a few more seconds to do the smart thing and take his victims to the deserted part of the school," sniffed Damon, not fond of being bested by Klaus.

"You went to the wrong trophy case? How did you even know to go to _a_ trophy case?" quizzed Elena suspiciously.

Damon bristled, "I went to the trophy place any good villain would have picked. It's not my fault if the guy is stupid. Plus, it's not like your sister told me the sports one."

"Addie, how did _you_ know -"

"Stop being fucking paranoid," Addie snapped, her words muffled from still resting on Damon. "I knew where the door we went into led and knew we passed the trophy case. Klaus could take us wherever but if Damon was headed towards that, our paths would cross. My plan worked," she grinned, squeezing her arms around him tighter.

Elena huffed, "Excuse me for being paranoid but you two know Alaric's Klaus and keep it from everyone. Klaus just happens to stop where Da-"

It was Bonnie who shocked them all with her interruption, "Do you hear how stupid you sound?! _You_ confronted him in the hall and I'm sure there is a good reason for not telling us. In case you guys forgot, even though he isn't chasing us, Klaus is still here and ready to kill!"

Damon's eye shot to Elena, "Go find Stefan. Now."

"Ok," she nodded.

"_Now!_" Damon barked when she wasn't moving fast enough for his liking.

Addie glowered when Damon pushed her away from him; she knew what he was going to say. "No. I'm staying."

"You're leaving," corrected Damon, stepping out of her path to the door. He pushed at her shoulder when she didn't move. Addie still didn't budge. "This is not up for argument or discussion, Addie. You are not facing Klaus! Now _go,_" he growled, pushing as hard as he dared at her shoulder.

Glaring at him, Addie slapped Damon's hand away. "First of all," she said in low voice as opposed to yelling, "you _don't_ touch me like that. Secondly, you're right; I'm not arguing or discussing this. You want me to leave, you're going to have to physically make. I can damn well assure you that will be the last of us. Not to mention you're gonna have a hell of a time from keeping me from coming back in."

"Damn it, Addie! Why do you have to be so fucking difficult and fight me on every fucking little thing?" snapped Damon, pulling at his hair in frustration. Couldn't she understand that he just wanted her to be safe?

"_This_ has nothing to do with you. This has to do with my best friend."

They had already had a forty minute fight about her coming to the dance and later spent another two and a half hours fighting about her leading Bonnie to Klaus. Every time he caved; he didn't care that she had valid and let her win because of that. No, Addie got her way because, while bickering her was fun, true fights with her were exhausting for both of them and they made her _sad_. Angry, frustrated, pissed off, annoyed were all things he could handle but she had this really bad habit of getting sad and crying when they fought and he hated to be the cause of that. And since this fight would silently center around the death of her best friend, well with her warped feelings on suicide, mile long list of issues with her parents death and though he appreciated her reaction to him killing, it was undoubtedly another sign of an issue with death, that combination left him with no fucking clue to expect from her. Damon threw up his hands in surrender. Maybe this would at least help her deal with some of those issues.

"Can you kill him?"

"Have we not already established that isn't an option?"

"It's not your choice, Addie. He's got some kind of protection spell on him."

Damon looked at her incredulously and reminded, "You have the power of a hundred witches. Break it!"

"I'm trying! If I kill Alaric, he'll just possess someone else. H-"

"Three reasons we can't kill him if that wasn't clear to everybody: Bonnie dies, Alaric dies, basically everyone but Klaus dies and he get the added bonus of being an unknown face again. Have we discussed hiding out in the Bahamas?" Addie interrupted cheerily.

Bonnie decided to carry on as if she hadn't spoke. Running away wasn't a choice. "He knows I have my power, Damon."

"Yyyyyyyyyyyeah. You kind of blew that when you stuck up your hand and said you were the plan. I cut you off and hoped the guy was _really_ stupid and couldn't put two and two together. Oh, that was why we need that lame plan I pulled out of my, uh, hat."

"He's trying to kill me," the witch whispered to the vampire, fear creeping into her voice.

Damon shook his head and determinedly reassured her, "No. Klaus does not get to win tonight. No way. You still willing to do whatever it takes to kill him?"

"Yes."

"No!"

"It's not your choice!" said Damon and Bonnie.

"Bon, Damon is the only bastard selfish enough to let you commit hara-kiri so he can get this over with and save his stupid fantasy crush!"

Damon pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on. To the floor he mumbled, "Seriously?" He looked and found Bonnie giving him that judgey look of hers. "Damn morality police! I guess we're doing this now," he scowled. If Addie was going to turn this into something he prayed that she would wait until they were alone. "Addie," he sighed, taking her hands in his, "look at me. Come on. Look at me, love."

Beet red, Addie met his eyes, noticing the slight flush in his cheeks.

"There's only one reason I'm selfish enough to let you lose your best friend like this. When this all first started I made a promise to you that I would find a way to save your sister. I have done everything I can, talked to everyone I know and a whole lot more that I don't, and have finished all but three of the two hundred Gilbert Journals. Even after Bonnie turned into Merlin, the only time I haven't spent looking for a way to Save Elena or kill Klaus is when I've been with you and I spend a fair bit of that time answering and sending emails about leads and reading the writings of a madman. I do it all because I don't want to break a promise to you. I wasn't keeping what happens to Bonnie from you; I literally found out when I was walking the door. That wasn't just some bomb I could drop on you when that was the entire plan to save your sister and Klaus has hijacked Alaric. Saving Elena is about you and no one else for me. That's how it's always been," Damon promised, daring to kiss her forehead.

Addie could feel Damon's eyes on her, waiting for a response. Grateful was an understatement of how she felt towards Bonnie, who had gone off to a corner and was playing with her phone. It had been embarrassing enough when she's Damon call her 'love'. Bonnie wasn't a busybody like that. She had always understood Addie's need for privacy and breaks from people but she never did like Elena and take that to mean she completely wanted nothing to do with people. Her and Bonnie had always been close. Not as close as she was with Jeremy but definitely closer than she was with Elena.

Eyebrows furrow in thought, Addie looked back at Damon and nervously said, "You promised to save my sister. You can't say blood defines a sister. Bonnie has been more of a sister to me than Elena. You let her die, you're still breaking your promise. I'll let you decide what to do with that."

Running a hand over his face Damon hoped his words wouldn't com back to bite him in the ass, "I promise Bonnie will be ok."

With a nod Addie turned and walked to the opposite end of the hall from him and Bonnie.

* * *

"You don't do that it a dress," Damon frowned sticking out a hand to help Addie up off of the ground.

She allowed him to pull her to her feet and brushed herself off. "Why does everyone feel the need to lecture me on dress etiquette and how to be lady tonight?"

He clicked his tongue and shrugged, "I just merely found the image on you sitting on the floor in a manner that one should not sit on the floor in a dress funny. No idea about the lady thing though; I've been here first hand and you have far more class than most of these girls. Despite what they seem to think skin, heels, face paint and flirting don't make you a lady. I just always find you in a dress to be amusing because I know, if you were tall enough, I'd have a problem with you stealing my suits."

"That's not - ok, but they would still look a lot better on you. I most definitely don't like the sixties. Seriously, I just wanna button your shirt up and put a tie on you," Addie nodded decisively.

He gasped in mock offense, "I thought you loved my chest."

When a quick glance down the hall showed her it was clear Addie slowly ran her finger from the base of his throat and down the center of his chest. Apparently there was no concept of the top three buttons in the sixties. "I do," she smiled flirtatiously, gently poking just above the fourth button down, "but it's hardly fair of you to come in here to crush the hearts of half the girls with just your looks."

"My God," Damon murmured, pulling her into a soft kiss. Breaking away slowly he rested his forehead against hers and breathed, "I think you just stroked my ego." Damon smiled at her bubbly laughter that lasted for a good two minutes. It was rare that she laughed so hard and genuine with pure happiness. He sincerely hoped that this wouldn't be the last time as his deception was about to break her heart.

In between catching breaths she managed out, "Well, you earned it. You have done very well resisting temptation in a monogamous, sexless relationship."

He frowned at what she said and shook his head, "There's no temptation, Ads."

Addie rolled her eyes and lightly backhanded him in the shoulder.. He got her by the wrist before she could pull back. "You don't have to lie, Damon. I'm a big girl. Besides sex is just sex; it's not emotion to you."

Damon nodded but he wasn't so sure about that anymore. All his previous conquest had been just that, conquest and nothing more. But he knew that if, _when_ he and Addie finally reached the point of sleeping together it would be just sex; it would be something he hadn't quite figured out yet. "Right, yes. I mean no. I mean…. Damn it, Ads. Stop trying to confuse me and driving me ten types of crazy."

While her intention hadn't been to upset him, Addie couldn't help breaking out into a broad grin. It had been a long time since he had said the "ten types of crazy" thing. He was probably still as confused and fumbling his way through this relationship as she was.

That was the smile that kept him going, the one so big it triggered a hidden dimple on her left cheek. Though, he wasn't sure as to what had caused it. He began pushing her back into a locker and and seriously said, "All I know is that _this_ has emotion." One hand settled at the small of her back and he dropped her wrist to allow the other to cup her head and protect it from the lockers. Damon smirked into the kiss; she must have been expecting him to be gentle but his sudden attack left her gasping, allowing him easy access between her parted lips. A smug satisfaction filled him as she didn't fight for control and simply allowed him to nip sharply at her bottom lip, eliciting one of the most intoxicating sounds he had ever heard. Damon growled low in his throat as one set of nails scraped down the exposed portion of his chest and the other buried in his hair, trying to pull him closer. He should have known better than to think she'd be passive for long. He pressed himself flush against her, minus the small gap so she could continue to stroke his chest. Who was he to deny his love?

"What the hell?" cried Elena at Damon, who had her sister pressed up against the lockers, as she and Stefan turned into the corner. "What are you doing?"

If there were such a thing as gods, the floor would open up right then and swallow her whole, Addie thought. It would take Damon too and it would also be like when Persephone, bringer of Spring was taken by Hades, god of the Underworld, as he split open the earth to ride a chariot out from hell. Also, her world was not one of mythology so Addie settled for shoving Damon off and as far away from her as possible as she felt her face burn hot with mortification.

"Well, I thought that would be kind of obvious but I guess my brother has taught you some very strange ways of kissing so you don't recognize a normal one," Damon answered speculatively.

"Not you groping my ba-"

"_I _was not the one doing the - ow!" he cried in exaggeration, rubbing where Addie had reached up to smack him on the back of the head. It hadn't hurt at all but it had be a surprise. Even Damon had to admit that he kind of deserved it though; he wasn't helping with Addie's embarrassment.

Despite not wanting anymore attention, Addie felt the need to speak up, "Where's Bonnie? Why isn't she with you guys?"

"That's what I was asking! I left her with you two," Elena snapped.

"I thought she went to…" Addie trailed off quietly and turned to glare at Damon. "What was you _plan_? Where is Bonnie?"

"She's doing what she has to do."

The sisters simultaneously shrieked, "What?"

Stefan spoke up to demand again, "Where is she?"

"Stefan, let her do this," Damon answered calmly, suggesting everyone else do the same.

"Damn it, Damon, where is she?" his brother yelled.

The older vampire shook his head, "No, I don't think so. You see, I tell you and then you all go running off to her and then we don't end up with a dead Klaus."

"I don't fucking care about a dead Klaus! I care about a dead Bonnie! Now, where the fuck is she, Damon?" command Addie with watery eyes and stomping her foot for emphasis.

Glancing at the clock that hung from the ceiling Damon wondered if there was a way to get through this whole thing without those tears filling his girlfriend's eyes spilling. Probably not but he could possibly hold them at bay. By the time they ran to the cafeteria, Klaus and Bonnie should have been fighting long enough for Klaus to fall for her performance.

"Cafeteria."

Just as he had anticipated, they all took off in a run. Damon cursed himself for not remembering that Addie was a really good runner and he should have been prepared for that. While he passed Stefan and Elena a third of the way there, he was just barely in time to catch Addie around the waist and stop her from taking the last fest steps that would let her see inside of the open double doors to the room where sounds of fighting could be heard.

Stumbling over her feet Addie looked around in bewilderment. The ground had suddenly disappeared from under her feet and she wasn't moving forwards. Then she noticed the tight grip around her waist. There was no need to look and see who had grabbed her. Wildly she kicked and squirmed, trying to break free. Through gritted teeth she grounded out, "Let go, Damon!"

A heel sharply struck his shin and he snapped, "Calm down." When she didn't, he tried to at least make things better by setting her on the floor but she kept trying to run. The idea was a bust since he had to hold her back so tightly that she kept tripping over herself. Deciding it was safer for her, he lifted her again and chose to deal with the shin kicking. Addie was bent over his arm as if she meant to charge away so he leaned forward to hiss into her ear, "Give up! You're not getting your way this time!" She only became more determined to break free.

Having caught up, Elena and Stefan passed them and were just outside the doorway off the cafeteria when the doors slammed closed. Damon considered letting go as he watched the other girl unsuccessfully try to open them until he saw her press her face up against what must have been a window pane. That made his decision simple.

"Bonnie, no!" Elena screamed at the glass. She let out a scream when the lights burst and a shower of sparks rained down around Bonnie and a downed Klaus.

Knowing it was futile, Stefan still tried to pull open the doors. Bonnie flashed Elena a quick smile before turning back to face Klaus, now back on his feet. All of a sudden Bonnie violently jerked and bent further backwards than any body should go before collapsing to the floor. The finally doors opened for Stefan and Elena as they had been continuously tugging at them. The two ran inside but Damon didn't let go off Addie. He wasn't 100 percent sure Klaus wasn't still going to attack. The room was also bound to be a bloody, messy sight that she didn't need to see.

"Let me down! Let me go! Bonnie needs me!" Addie protested, having twisted so she could kick and shove at Damon.

"No."

"_Damon_," she strained, pushing as hard as she could against his chest.

Fear of a reality she did not want to accept chilled her to the bone when she heard a choking sobs and words of denial from her sister. In Damon's arms she turned to dead weight and just as dead and emotionless said, "Let me go, Damon."

He set her on the floor and but kept his arm tight around her; he did not want her in that cafeteria. With his free hand he lifted her chin and looked into her eyes, which were just as hollow and empty as her voice. Damon had a sick feeling in his stomach as he tried the impossible task of trying to wipe away her tears as fast as they fell. He'd seen nearly every emotion he could imagine in those deep blue orbs, from fear to anger to delight to even lust, but he had only once seen _nothing_: when she told him to kill her on the night that they met. His heart ached so badly that he wanted to tell her it was all a ruse right then but he knew he had to do this, that in the long run this was the safest thing for her. Klaus could overhear if he told her hear. He revealed the truth in the closest way he could; it was up to her to do the rest.

"Addison," he whispered, connecting their eyes again as he'd been distracted by the tears, "I made you a promise and now I'm making you another. I promise that I did not break my promise. You have to believe in me. You have to trust me. You _need_ to stay out here. I want you to go home with Stefan and Elena. I'll be home soon to show you I kept my promise. Do you understand me?" She didn't respond or even blink. "Addie?" Still no reaction.

This was a bad sign but he unfortunately was on a time schedule and didn't know where Klaus was making it an inopportune time to handle the situation. He already didn't like that he was going to have to leave her alone for a few seconds with that maniac loose. Experimentally he loosened his arm from around her waist and when she didn't move, he completely let her go. She just stood there crying. Yeah, she wasn't going anywhere.

Quickly Damon strode into the Cafeteria and took charge of his plan. He first ordered, "Stefan, get Elena out of here. I'll deal with the body."

"What do you mean deal with it?" Elena exclaimed through a sob.

"The sheriff can't know about this. Last thing we need's another mysterious death," explained Damon. He gave Stefan a stern look. "Get her home. Now. So I can clean this up. And make sure you take Addie. I think she's on robot mode so, well, she shouldn't fight you," he shrugged hopefully.

"Hey, hey, hey," Stefan whispered soothingly to Elena, pulling her to her feet.

"No. Jeremy. Oh, my God, Jeremy," she cried in sudden realization. "What about Jeremy."

"I'll find him."

Once he heard their retreat footsteps he knelt down next to Bonnie and gently brushed his hand over her lifeless brown eyes, shutting the lids. The little witch better be right about this, otherwise he was going to have a lot of explaining to do and - His thoughts were interrupted by a very unexpected yell.

"Don't!" Well, at least Addie wasn't comatose. Damon had to use his enhanced hearing as she continued in her normal voice, "I will leave with _Damon_."

"Damon wants you to come home with us. He has things to do," Stefan tried to reason.

Addie yelled again, "Don't!" What was his brother doing to upset her so much? Damon got to one knee but hesitated; seeing him might only make things worse. But _what_ was Stefan doing? Her voice was lowered again as she threatened, "I swear, if you reach for my hand one more time I will find a pencil and stake yours. Which do you think Damon wants more: for me to go quietly and cooperatively with him or to find out that you had to break a ton of bones to get me to go with you?"

"If you stay out of the cafeteria you can go with otherwise I pick the broken bones option," Damon called out, rubbing at his face in frustration.

Addie must have agreed because a second later he heard only two pairs of footsteps leaving. Sighing, he stood up and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his contacts until he found "Middle Gilbert" and called. As the phone rang he began to pace down the cafeteria. If everything had gone according to plan, Bonnie had parked his baby right outside that door in the corner. He did not want to be seen carrying a corpse all the way across campus. He swore under his breath when he got the answering machine. "Jeremy, I need you to meet me at my my car as soon as you get this. It's right outside the door by the cafeteria."

Shoving his phone away, Damon turned back around to take care of Bonnie. Again he swore in frustration. He'd been far too hopeful to believe that Addie would actually listen to him for once and just stay out of the damn room. Knelt next to Bonnie's body, tears streamed down her face as she gasped intermittently for small breaths. When he got closer and smelled blood that was far too sweet to be Bonnie's he frowned and carefully looked Addie over. A small pool of blood surrounded the heel of her left as she rest on it and her right hand, leaning over Bonnie. Glass from when the lights shattered were all around. She must have dropped her hand on a pretty big piece. He pulled out his switchblade and nicked his finger.

The blood that bubbled up seemed to be mocking him. How had he gotten so _careless_ and _stupid_? He'd fucking given Addie his blood just that afternoon so they wouldn't have to worry about the slight chance of him being stronger than vervain. How did it just simply slip his mind that she could have _died_ with it in her system? Yes, he had initially started off with basically keeping her prisoner until his blood was out of her system and then she had used her damn logic into letting her go about a normal routine but tonight wasn't normal. She was playing cat and mouse with Klaus! There was a very good chance she would have died and then…. No, it hadn't been an unconscious slip; they had agreed to a deal of 30 years old and he wouldn't try to convince her to change. Of course if there was an accident - no! She had made it very clear that she would pick death. But so had he. Death is a lot more scary when you're looking it in the eye and have a way out. No, no, no! He wasn't screwing up. He wasn't being selfish. He had just grown careless and stupid; he'd been too eager about the Klaus fiasco coming to a close and getting to be with her in peace.

Damon had stared at at his finger so long that he had heal. Before cutting himself again, he wiped the small bit there was against his dark jeans. Sinking down onto a knee next to Addie he held the finger in front of her and instructed, "Drink." Addie just continued to cry over her best friend. "You cut your hand. Drink." More sobbing. Seeing Bonnie lifeless had probably broke her again; that's why he wanted her out of the cafeteria. Sighing, he pressed his finger to her lips. Some blood transferred but she didn't open her mouth or even lick her lips. He tried to pass his finger past her lips but she had them pressed so tightly they paled. Damon glanced around for some napkins; it was a cafeteria, but all the tables were put up for the night.

"You know, I could go with 'I told you not to look' but I think I'll remark on how even when being unresponsive you're stubborn and make things difficult. Admittedly, I may have earned you being difficult this time," observed Damon as he used his knife to cut off the bottom two inches of his shirt. At least she moved when he gently pushed her back so she wasn't resting on her hands. He picked up the left one and wasn't surprised to find a large piece of fluorescent lighting stuck in it. He pinched it between two fingers and warned, "This may hurt." Quickly he yanked the glass out, making the wound bleed more. The fact that her blood now smelled appetizingly sweet reminded him of the new problem they may have found but he pushed it back along with the blood lust. Damon grabbed the part of the shirt he ripped off and tightly wrapped it several times around her. He curled her hand into a fist and gently whispered, "Try to keep it like this. The pressure will help with the bleeding and pain. Of course my blood would have worked better. You're gonna flip when you realize that's a $600 bandage on your hand." He wiped the bit of blood that had gotten on him on his pants before brushing away her tears, which was pointless as they were immediately followed by new ones.

Damon glanced around and sighed. They had to get out of here. Bonnie didn't say exactly how long the spell would last and they could take any chances that Klaus was still lurking around. Stepping opposite of Addie, he bent down to scoop up Bonnie in his arms bridal style and made for the cafeteria door. Or she would surprise him and follow looking like a wounded pup who was being taken away from it's mother, still weeping. Damon bit at his lip as he used his hip to open the door; hopefully she'd be fine after she found out Bonnie was alive. He really should have thought before hand as he tried to get his trunk key from his pocket and hold Bonnie. What was usually inconvenient about old cars having separate door, trunk, and engine keys had been for the first time been useful when he needed Bonnie to move his car while he stayed with Addie. He was going to have to do an oil change or put on new brake pads, something to make it up to his baby for letting someone else drive her.

Finally he managed to open the boot and put Bonnie in it. As he slowly closed the lid he again hoped that she was right and would wake up soon. Not just because he had promised Addie but because her sacrifice would have been completely pointless and Klaus would be the victor that night. Damon frown as he watched Addie vacantly stare as she leaned against the back driver door, tears flowing like water falls. She really needed to stop that; the guilt thing was like he was being flambeed inside out.

"Damon! Addie!" called Jeremy, running up to them. He was still a distance away when he continued, "Hey, I got your message. I can't find anyone. Where's Elen-" He stopped short in front of his little sister and felt queasy. Those were her _dead_ eyes; they first appeared one day when she was about ten and went into a mute, autopilot of school, home, sleep. Mom had gotten so frustrated with her and Dad had been so concerned that when, after five days, he let it slip that he'd been eating the food meant for and refused by Addie so she wouldn't get in trouble, there was no question that they were taking her to the hospital. Jeremy didn't see her for ten days. He'd learn to cover for her better after that. At least until their parents died; he was too absorbed in himself to be there for her. He snarled at Damon and demanded, "What the _hell_ did you do to my little sister?!"

"We need to have a little talk."

"Yeah! How about let's start with why my sister is a cry shell of herself!" Jeremy yelled emphatically.

Damon gave Addie a puzzled look and started, "About that-"

"Is that blood?!" he spat, pulling out her bandaged hand and uncurling her fingers to see a wet, darker patch against the fabric.

"Yeah. Some lights exploded, your sister decided to sit in the glass and because she's some kind of robot or something, I can't get her to drink my blood to heal the big gash in her hand," Damon rattled off as it was an everyday occurrence. "Do you know how to, like, reboot her or whatever?"

"Yes. First tell me what happened."

"I can't-"

"Then I'm taking Addie home," Jeremy snapped, moving his hand up to her wrist.

Rolling his eyes Damon pulled out his phone and waved it at Jeremy, "You can either wait twenty minutes for me to type it all out or you can take ten minutes to follow me, which you're going to do anyways, to find out. You're fixing your sister first."

Jeremy glanced between the phone, his sister's injured hand, the incessant tears, and Damon. Something bad had gone down, that much he knew. The question was if Damon was the good guy or bad guy when it came to whatever was causing Addie so much pain. He went with his gut. "When she hurt her hand, was it before or after she was like this?"

"Does it matter?" Damon sneered. "Just fix her."

"It matters on whether or not I'm willing to take the risk to fix her!"

"She's your sister! Why wouldn't you fix her?!"

Jeremy hesitated and shuffled his feet awkwardly, "I've learned the hard way that my way, though it's the fast way, is not the right way. My way can go really wrong."

Damon frowned, "How likely is that?"

"Well, I need you to answer to know, now don't I?"

"Good God, you two are related. She was like this, then for a minute she was herself, you know, stubborn and controlling and insisting on getting her way, then she was like this again."

"Where in there did she hurt her hand though?" probed Jeremy.

Damon ran his hand anxiously through his hair as he confessed the three words he like least, "I don't know. She was herself. I turned around to call you and when I turned back around she was like this, sitting in the glass with her hand bleeding. Addie didn't even seem to be aware of it though."

Her brother exhaled loudly. Damn. He couldn't tell if she had done it on purpose or not. "Is the reason she's like this rational? I mean, she's not broken or robot or any. When Addie takes on too many emotions, good or bad, she shuts down. She suppresses _all _feelings as much as she can. She's trying to feel nothing and," he suddenly turned towards her and clapped loudly an in from her nose but she didn't react, "well, as you see, I can't even startle her with something right up in her face. But she can't stop feeling whatever is making her cry; it's too strong. Or she's fighting too many other feelings and this one wins king of the hill. So, is there a reason I should make my sister face all these emotions before she's ready to?"

Shaking his head at the lengths he had to go to just to not possibly have Klaus overhear and figure anything out Damon sent a quick text.

**Damon: She saw something distressing but within an hour it will all make sense and she won't have a reason to be upset.**

Jeremy frowned as he read the text. Slowly he gathered, "It has to do with what we need to talk about?" Damon nodded. "Is it better if she's around or…"

"Uh, is it some magical trick you have to do to turn into a real girl again or am I able to do it where the hardest thing she's gonna throw at me is a pillow?" Damon asked cheekily. Addie was going to be really pissed and he'd rather not have the fight in front of Bonnie and her brother. It would possibly help for her to see Bonnie alive though….

* * *

Damon held open the door for Addie to enter the house but she didn't move. "Right," he sighed, going inside, "you only follow." Damon pulled out the dagger hidden beneath his waistband and shirt plus the small bag of white ash and them in front of Addie. As he spoke he coated the dagger with the ash. "The question is if you follow orders. We're kinda on a time limit before the Original in the basement wakes up, rips the chair leg out of the floor and himself, then rips out all our hearts." He smiled encouragingly and held out the weapon to and urged, "Go stab him in the heart." More tears. "Yeah, that would have been too easy. You didn't want him daggered when you _weren_'_t_ shut down. Not to mention you are really bad at taking direction. Guess we need the hero for this."

Addie mindlessly followed Damon into the study. Elena jumped up at the sound of a floorboard creaking and spun around to face the vampire. "What did you do with her?" she roared.

Damon gave Stefan a bored look and gesture to Elena saying, "Will you please calm her down?"

"Don't talk like I'm not standing right in front of you!"

"Please calm down," he said in his politest, most rational tone. "Or, you know, at least go mute like your sister."

"No, no! I'm not going to take the easy way out. I'm not going to just shut out all my feelings because it's just easier to not feel the pain! She should be outraged with you right now because you knew! You knew, didn't you? You knew that if she harnessed all that power, that she would die, didn't you?" accused Elena, getting right up in Damon's face.

"Yes. Yes, I knew." He quickly counted backwards from five and tried not to be too upset with her when she smacked him. Damon grabbed her by the shoulders and spoke slow and clear, "You need to listen to me, and prepare for what I'm about to say. Bonnie had to die. Klaus using Alaric's body was a total surprise. She wasn't prepared for that. He wasn't going to stop and we weren't going to be able to stop him until he knew she was dead. He had to _believe _it. That doesn't make it real."

"W-w-w-what?" Elena stammered, pulling away from. "What are you saying, Damon?"

"Bonnie's alive."

Elena shook her head insistently, "No, no she's not. I saw her. Stefan saw her."

"You saw the works of a spell. You saw what we needed you to see," he said simply. The dagger twirled between his fingers until the hilt pointed at her. "Go stick this in our lovely friend downstairs and then Skype your brother if you want proof. She should be waking up about now."

Elena frowned, "I don't believe you."

"I know. That's why I'm offering you proof. However, you _really_ need to stick Elijah first. It's only a matter of time before he starts shoving his hand through our chests and this whole night was pointless."

"Get Addie to do," sneered Elena.

Damon sucked in air between his teeth and grimace, "Yeahhhhh, she's, uh, not really in the spirit to save everyone's life at the moment."

"Because what you did broke her!" Elena yelled.

He stuck up a finger and waved it objectively, correcting, "No, no, I did not do that. Jeremy _clearly_ said I did not break her. I do have the cure for the crying, emotional shut down problem but I'm kinda stuck here trying to get you to stab Elijah before he rips your little sister's heart out. Personally, I wouldn't let anyone do that to my baby brother and we have over a 150 years of more issues than you and Addie but," Damon shrugged, moving to pocket the dagger.

"You are a horrible person. Give it to me," she hissed holding her hand out.

He passed it to her and nodded, "I don't claim otherwise. Thank you." Damon waited until he heard the basement door close before heading to the stairs, Addie following with her tears.

"You know, you could have told me," Stefan huffed from the bottom of the stairs.

Damon rolled his eyes, "How do I know when you're going to go blabbing things to your girlfriend?"

"You understand what you put her through? Can you not at least see what you've done to _Addie_?" Stefan stressed, nodding his head towards the weeping girl one step behind Damon.

His eyes narrowed dangerously; of course he knew how bad he had hurt her. He tried to keep his voice nodded as he pointed out, "See, that's why I didn't tell you. 'Cause you would have never been able to do it. Don't get me wrong, Stefan. I don't mind being the bad guy. I'll make all the life and death decisions while you're busy worrying about collateral damage. I'm even willing to have Addie hate me. But at the end of the day, I'll be the one to keep Elena alive because I promised the girl I love that I wouldn't let her sister die. We've danced this dance before, Brother. We both know who's willing to put more on the line for love."

A small bit of relief hit Damon when Addie follow him into his room; a tiny part of him feared that she would keep on walking to the one she occasion used and shut him out along with her emotions. When he wanted her to follow him into the bathroom though, she stayed standing by his dresser. Realizing his crying shadow wasn't behind him he came out of the bathroom chuckling, "So, everything else has left you but you modesty and boundaries?" He grabbed her good hand and led her to the sink.

"Maybe now you'll see what I've always known," he muttered focused on gingerly unwinding the cloth from his shirt off her hand, "that you're a good girl and you deserve much better me." He turned on the faucet and waited for it to warm. "The bad guy doesn't get the happy ending with the good girl," he stated matter-of-factly as he washed his hands, realizing he should have done so before even touching hers. He just kept making mistake after mistake with her and that day seemed particularly bad.

Damon carefully held her hand in his and just before placing it under the water he warned, "This might sting… if I remember correctly." His eyes flickered between watching bright red water run off their hands and unsuccessfully searching her face for any reaction. A bit of dried blood still clung to her hand. Damon looked at the bar of soap among the rocks and frowned; pressing that against a cut would definitely sting. A smile tugged at his lips as he looked at the liquid hand soap on the other side of the sink. Despite his protest against it's femininity as it came from the same line as her blackberry and vanilla smelling lotion, Addie had insisted on placing it in the bathroom about a week after Katherine -no, _she_, took the moonstone. Apparently the scowl he gave the bowl of rocks and soap was highly unattractive and his obsession with searching through it was not going to bring back the stone and was therefore unhealthy. To be fair, after it spent a week under the counter rather than on it, he didn't become pissed off every time he went to the bathroom. Damon snorted, Addie probably just felt guilty every time either one of them saw it since she was the one who had taken the moonstone. He still hadn't gotten around to being mad at her for that yet. Though, she did save it from Katherine. And now that he knew that she had it, that was something Klaus could compel from him to hurt her. Klaus, she had figured him out too.

Damon pumped some soap into his hand, lathered it, and kissed her temple. "While your brilliance is far too great for your own good, it cannot help escape the fate of soap," he said as a stereotypical villain. "Seriously, though, this is gonna sting so I apologize in advance. Next, either _a) _don't get hurt, _b) _drink my blood, or _c)_ buy baby soap. I vote 'a'." Gently he rubbed at her hand, watching her face for anything besides tears but there was no change. When he was satisfied that the wound was clean and all the dried blood gone, he grabbed a fresh hand towel and patted hers dry. The cut still bled a little so he had her hold it.

Back in his room he opened the dresser drawer reserved for her and pulled out one of his softest shirts. She would either find it funny that he had been serious about letting her use his shirt as a tissue or really stupid. Her humor was a hit or miss thing he was still trying figure out.

It was like playing follow-the-leader when she was like this. When he sat on the edge of bed, she did. Damon moved to the center, Addie moved right next to him. He faced her and she looked at him.

Frowning, Damon pulled her left hand still clutching the towel into his lap. He knew what he had to do but… Running his fingers through his hair he groaned in frustration. He got up and went back to his dresser, pleasantly surprised when she didn't move. From the top drawer he pulled out a tumbler and decanter of bourbon. Two fingers to steady his nerves. Fuck it. The whole glass. Klaus, who was joyriding in his best friend, got away. He couldn't even think of a way to describe what he had to Addie. In her comatose, robotic, autopilot, grief induced state she was following him around like a shadow which made absolutely no sense since she should be screaming at him. That paused his train of thought long enough to turn the sound machine on; eavesdroppers were not welcomed. To get her out of the trance he had to make her _feel_ something other than grief and according to her brother the key to that was getting her to open and close her injured hand to feel pain. As if he hadn't put her through enough _psychological_ pain. Of course, when she was back to her senses she was undoubtedly going to break up with him. His night was definitely worthy of the next half a glass.

There was a knock at his door. Hadn't it become an unstated rule that if waves were crashin', no party crashin'? Damon rubbed at his temple and called back "What?" He groaned when the door opened and extended it when he saw who it was. "That wasn't an invitation. Look, Klaus had to think she was dead. Your reaction had to be real."

"Addie's? You could have just sent her after Jeremy. Locked her in a broom closet. She's...," Elena glanced sadly at her sister, "Either your cure didn't work or you haven't even bothered yet."

"We're working up to it."

Elena nodded and feigned sympathy, "I get it. I don't like fight with her. She's always right. The trick is to stay focused on the thing she is least upset about: that you lied to her about Bonnie being dead, that you were willing to let her best friend pointlessly die, or that you didn't give a damn about how much it all hurt her."

"She is going to hate me," Damon said, voice his fear aloud.

Elena shook her head, "If she hadn't shut down I could tell you that easily is not true as long as you had a rational reason for making her go through that. My sister governs her life by logic and rules 90% of the time. You just found the one fail-proof way to make her… _irrational_. When starts feeling, she's going to judge you and your actions by her emotions and not by logic."

"Basically I'm fucked. Did you just come here to kick me when I'm already down?" he asked boredly, refusing to show signs of weakness and uncertainty.

"I didn't say that. You know we don't have the best relationship but from what I've seen you've broken past my sister's defenses and have gotten her to experience emotions outside of her bipolar on a new level. If I can see that," Elena shrugged, "my guess is that her feelings extend to a place that is only visible to you two. Of course there is the flip side where she won't accept that her feelings for you are strong enough for her to get past this. I call that the Classic Addison; she still hates me for our parent's dying and it's taken almost a year for her to even really look at me again. There's also the chance that her feelings for you really aren't strong enough for her to get past this and you'll have to accept that.

"When you picked life and death to manipulate her about you made a very big mistake. Not only has no one ever hurt her like this but even if she forgives you, this is going to fuck her up. I don't know if she's told you about our parent's funeral and how she didn't go but if she did I know she told you it was about us fighting and the little temper tantrum she had. That's not the truth. I over heard both Jenna and Sheriff Forbes try to talk her into going but she wouldn't because she was terrified of seeing Mom and Dad dead. That's what broke her bond with Jeremy, not the drugs and Vickie. He couldn't handle her coming to him night after night crying about nightmares of seeing them dead at the bottom of the river or ones of me dead hooked up to hospital machines. She never saw any of those things; they were all in her head. What do you think seeing Bonnie believably dead is going to do to her?" questioned Elena, as if inquiring what the weather was like. She just wanted to slap him again.

Damon ran a hand along his jaw as he tried to come up with an answer. He shook his head and whispered, "I had no idea. I _have_ no idea."

"Maybe you can answer this. Even if you lose her, was it worth it? Would you do it again?"

Had he been being an overprotective, over jealous boyfriend when it seemed like Klaus had been asking a few too many personal questions about her? He rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly, "Elena, I want to ask you something about Klaus."

"Ok," she nodded slowly, confused by the topic jump.

"Can I trust you not to repeat this conversation to anyone else, especially your sister?"

Elena shook her head, "No, not if someone's safety is at risk."

He glanced over at Addie and dropped his voice just a little in case she could actually register what he was saying, "Can you not say anything until there is proof?"

Elena frowned, "Is it important?"

"Could be nothing. Could be something. My question for you is my first step in figuring it out."

"Promise you'll tell me if it's something and I'll promise not to say anything," she caved.

Damon bobbed his head eagerly, "Deal. Now, I know you guys didn't sit down and have a fancy tea but… Bonnie says Klaus was toying with Addie."

"Mmm… Addie was being a little… You would have toyed with her, too. I don't think it's anything to worry about."

"So he didn't seem particularly interested in her?" pressed Damon, starting to wondering if he had made a huge mistake. Elena hesitated two beats too many. "What happened?" he demanded.

"I'm assuming you want the blow by blow?"

"No, I'm asking for a quick summary so I can decide if I want to watch or not."

Elena scowled, "You two. Ugh. It's I hear one's voice but the other person's words half the time and since you're both annoying half the time it equals out to constant annoyance."

"Actually if you wanted to equal out to -"

She held up her hands for him to stop, "Nu-uh. That brand of annoying rationality is strictly Addie. It doesn't even work when you try it."

Damon rolled his eyes, "What happened with Klaus?"

"Well, first he calls her Addison, which is weird but not illegal. She told us Alaric was Klaus in a smartass way when I asked about vervain. Klaus said he want to do the big reveal but it was ok because something about Clue? He called you a lost little puppy and said she told you. He made it kind of open end about whether he was going to kill her tonight because she won a game but wanted to dagger him? God, I don't know. We were kinda about to start running for our lives."

"Then try remembering harder," he hissed. This was not looking like Klaus was interested in her which was good news for his peace of mind but extremely bad for his relationship.

"Ok! Egotistical! Klaus said something egotistical. Oh, I specifically remember Addie being sarcastic about one psychotic, serial killing, narcissistic vampire not being enough and then she accused _me _of drawing them here!"

"I'll get right on fixing that for you when we're done and remind her that a comet drew me here," Damon quipped as Elena stared at him expectantly. "Back to the story!"

"Right, um, Klaus said it's lucky for him that she likes psychotic blah, blah, blah and tends to give them credit? Addie said something about redemption and Klaus said he might not have use for her? He'd decide whether or not after killing Bonnie."

Damon was quiet for a long time. The one direct threat was a only a maybe. It was the subtle innuendos and banter where Addie was too naive to sense the game that bothered him. He could see it though. He knew the game; he use to rule the game. Klaus wasn't going to kill her quick. If Damon was right, he would do one of two things: win her trust before he attacked or find a way close to her through a backdoor and strike from there. Both were long and calculating. He'd always been the hunter; hopefully that would help him in protecting Klaus' prey.

"Yes. I would do it again."

Elena gaped at him, "You're judging that based on a conversation."

He shook his head, "No. I don't you need to understand why I did it to her; I just need her to. So, if you'll excuse -"

"Addie wasn't what I came to discuss," Elena interrupted. "I understand why you did what you did. Klaus was fooled and Bonnie's."

"Here's to duplicity," Damon shrugged, raising up his glass before draining it of the last of the bourbon.

Elena squared her shoulders and continued in a stronger voice, "But let's get one thing straight, Damon. Bonnie will not die for me, I will not let that happen."

He glanced over at Addie. Her cheeks still glistened but it didn't look like she was actively crying. It was going to destroy her but Klaus, Klaus would do much worse. "We need to kill Klaus, Elena. Real Klaus. Who will probably be coming to pay you a visit soon now that he knows Bonnie is dead. She's the only one who can do it."

"We'll find another way."

"I hope so," he sighed.

"Look, I shouldn't have hit you."

Damon smirked, "Apology accepted. I viewed as a warm-up. I imagine Addie has a much stronger swing."

Elena nodded in agreement, "She does. You deserve it but don't let her do it. I know you can stop her. Addie will only be beating herself up as soon as she calms down and she'll get really depressed and it will just add to however screwed up she is. With as physical as she can get, she gets surprisingly upset when she resorts to using violence as a release." Elena gave him a small smile as she backed out the door, "Good luck."

Stalling, Damon decided it was suddenly very important that he put away his shoes. And he need to put on a clean pair of jeans; he wiped blood on the pair he had on. A different shirt was definitely; his was missing the bottom two inches! It was a wise idea to freshen up too. Addie didn't need to know _right away_ that he'd let her cry because he needed a drink to work up the nerve to get her to stop. And had a prolonged conversation with her. He made for a pretty crappy boyfriend.

Damon climbed back next to her on the bed and took the t-shirt he had gotten out, wrapping the soft fabric around his hand. "I'm so sorry that the only thing I can do is the you how sorry I am," he mourned, tucking a lock of hair that clung to her damp cheek behind her ear. He had been right when he had guess that she had stopped cry but it was probably because her eyes just couldn't produce more tears. The whites were so flaming red it almost looked as if she had pink eye and all around the her face was puffy. Her stare at his wall was empty but her eyelids drooped and she seemed to struggle to keep them open. Damon gently ran the cloth across cheeks to dry them and wiped away her slightly runny nose.

"You're _snot_ a very snotty crier, you know?" he remarked, balling up the shirt and tossing it to the end of the bed. "My God, I've resorted to puns. Don't judge me for that lame ass… I can't even call it a joke. I'm just… I don't want to make you feel pain," he sighed defeatedly, cradling her hand. "At least not more than I already have. Why does it have to be pain? Why can't it be some other emotion? Emotion," he repeated, his mind flashing back to the kiss in the hall. Debating the ethics he questioned, "If I kiss you is that like taking advantage of the drunk chick at the party or is it more like Prince Charming trying to wake up Snow White with true love's kiss."

He rolled his eyes and scoffed in his best imitation of Addie, "First of all, that's a _fairy tale_. Fairy tales aren't real because they break the laws of science. Secondly, true love isn't real either. So, really, the answer's kind of obvious, Damon."

Dropping the impression, Damon nodded, "You are absolutely right. In your world, prior to me having to compel you to believe, vampires weren't real, I wasn't real. I was a genetic mutation part of a medical experiment on steroids because you needed science to answer _everything_. You also didn't believe in magic but your little friend just pulled off the best trick I've seen and I kinda need you to comprehend when I tell you she's alive. Addie, you need everything proven to you. Maybe the kiss will be proof that true love isn't just for fairy tales."

He cupped her face softly in his hand and leaned in. Changing his mind he sat back. Delicately he slid her partially closed eyelids down the rest of the way, his fingers hovering to see if they would stay shut. That was better; it felt too wrong with her just staring at him but not even seeing him. He tried again. His eyelashes tickled her cheek. A quick kiss at the corner of her mouth where she has dimple. Their lips were millimeters apart and then not apart at all, they brushed lightly. Damon was about to pull back when she took in a deep breath. Vice like grip around loosened and he felt his shoulders relax.

"Come back, my Ads," he pleaded against her lips as he ran both hands through her hair constantly, hoping it would soothe her. "Please, love, come back to me. Let me in."

Had he accidentally nudged her closer while playing with her hair or was she leaning into him? Her name tumbled off his lips in a hopeful whisper before he let them press firmer against hers than before. After a moment her lips slowly began to mold against his own. He wasn't imagining it; she was kissing him back. He again started to pull away but she followed. Damon took this as a good sign and continued to kiss her. Against his stomach he could feel the brush of her knuckles as she clutched at the bottom of his shirt. She was trying to part his lips. Damon debated on allowing the kiss to go deeper or checking to make sure she knew what she was doing.

The towel she held against her injured hand skimmed against the back of his neck as her arm wound around it. Something wet dropped on his cheek, quickly followed by sever more. Damon broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers as he pulled a hand from her hair to brush at the tears falling down her face. Her eyes still closed, still closed, he could feel her trying to bring him closer to her. Damon shifted them so that she was in his lap. Instinctively her arms wrapped around him and her face buried in his neck.

"Damon," whimpered Addie so softly he almost missed his name, "it hurts. It hurts so bad."

Wincing at the despair and desperation in her voice he said, "I know, Ads. I know. But it's not real. Bonnie _is_ alive."

Addie shook her head against him and choked back a sob, "No! I saw her, Damon. Don't lie. No more lies."

"I'm not lying," he insisted, rubbing her back in small circles. "She cast a spell to _look_ dead so Klaus wouldn't actually kill her. She's with Jeremy. Elena saw her on the webcam. I promise you she is alive. I promised I wouldn't let her die. There are no lies."

Slowly, Addie pulled away from his neck and sat up to look at him, Skeptic, she asked, "She's alive?" Damon nodded. "She's fine?"

"Go ask Elena or call Jeremy if you don't trust me. You obviously didn't tonight."

A _whoosh_ cut through the air as Addie's open hand flew towards Damon's face. He caught her by the wrist when she was an inch from his face. She growled in frustration, "No vampire advantages!"

"Are you not going to feel guilty and be mad at yourself for hitting me? If you won't I will gladly let you finish that slap," reasoned Damon.

Scowling she yanked her hand back and snapped, "I trusted you to protect Bonnie!"

"And I did! I helped her make her death act believable so Klaus wouldn't really kill her!"

"You had to make him believe not _me._ Why did you make me think Bonnie was dead," demanded Addie as she discarded the towel, as her hand had stopped bleeding. As Damon groaned in frustration she scrambled out of his lap and off of the the bed. Her hands curled at her side. He didn't get to be frustrated. He wasn't the one who had been betrayed.

"Do you not remember what I said outside the cafeteria? I promised that I didn't break my promise to keep Bonnie alive. I told you that you needed to believe and trust me."

Addie scoffed, "I remember you stopping me from go to Bonnie but I don't remember _that_."

"Right," Damon recalled, "you were sorta shut down at that point."

"Not entirely true. I remember you telling me to go home with Stefan and Elena which was why I wouldn't," admitted Addie.

He scoffed in disbelief, "Just my luck. You miss the part about the promise so it becomes a difficulty late but tune in for the instruction to ignore then that led to more difficulty. _You_ don't like just being difficult; your selective hearing does too."

Addie's eyes glinted angrily as they narrowed. "You don't want to get me started on the never ending list of problems you present, Salvore."

"Honestly, I've been going over them all night. We really don't need to get into how bad I am; I get it."

Making her believe Bonnie was dead was beyond terrible but that didn't mean he was _bad_ unless he did it for sheer amusement. He had hurt her in an unbelievable way but Addie couldn't see Damon doing that to her without a good reason.

"You're not _bad_," Addie huffed, irritated that she had to deal with his screwed up view of himself when she just wanted to be pissed at him. "We are both just people with a few more faults than others. Luckily the good thing is we both found someone who knows a little something about being faulty and we have room to accept the other's faults in our life."

"Like when you make a really complicated analogy or metaphor or something with your weird logic and expect me to understand."

She glared at him and replied, "More like when you're stupid enough to try and make jokes after after having just made me believe that my best friend was killed."

"Addie, I _didn't_ want you to believe that," Damon confessed in exhaustion. He had been trying to preserve the bond between Bonnie and Addie by taking the brunt of the blame but it wasn't worth it. It seemed like Addie wasn't ready to just toss him aside, not unless she believed he hoped for things to go down the way they did. "I _wanted_ to fill you in on the plan and then lock you in a classroom because you would obviously try to stop.

"It was Bonnie who didn't want you to know what was going on. She knew you would never let her do it. She said you'd find some crafty way to stop her and seeing as you are you, that's not very hard to believe. I thought you should know. Bonnie said that even if she magicked you into a classroom the spell would break when she faked her death. You would know the truth and _a)_ your reaction would not be authentic as soon as you came running to the cafeteria and _b) _she wasn't convinced that if you saw Elena breaking down, you wouldn't confess it was fake. She knows you can keep a secret but she also knows that as much as you and Elena don't get along, you would have almost an impossible time putting her through that. We couldn't risk either thing happening because Klaus would surely be watching and he had to believe she was dead.

"I did my best to keep you from going in there and seeing Bonnie fight Klaus, trigger that spell, and look dead under it. But see, you have this little problem. You never trust that I might just be looking out for you, that I'm trying to protect you. I say turn left, you turn right. Usually there's no oncoming traffic when you turn. This time there was. You never would have gone through any of the pain you're feeling if you had listen to me. If I could have, I would have compelled you to stay out. I know that would have broken your trust in me but I didn't want you to go through what you did that badly."

Addie couldn't help but interrupt, "I would still hurt from Bonnie going behind my back on a pseudo-kamikaze mission and the pain of you supporting it and keeping me in the dark."

"I get that the plan had a risk and I promised you I wouldn't let her die but it was the best plan I could come up with that kept you safe from Klaus. I know what I've promised you about Elena and now Bonnie but you need to know that if it comes down to it, I'm picking what I think is best for you every time. I will always choose you, Addie. I screwed up tonight with the original plan of letting you lead Bonnie to Klaus. I should have never have let you do something so dangerous. No, I should have never left your side. Actually, my screw up was taking you somewhere we knew Klaus would be. I should have never let you go to the dance," Damon finished, having finally established the point where everything had started to go wrong.

The incredulous look on Addie's face had only increased the longer Damon had talked. She squared her shoulders and asserted, "Let's get one thing straight; you do not decide what I can and cannot do. Did you ever think the reason I'm almost always turning left is because you're constantly saying when and where I should go right like a captain? This fight is for my sister and I will not be a good little lady and sit on the sidelines while the menfolk fight. It's not the 1860s anymore. I accepted a long time ago that you are not going to put my sister first but just _you _put me first doesn't mean I will. You have two options: respect my choices or stay out of this."

That really left him no choice, he noted, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. "By 'this' you're not just including the Klaus situation are you? You mean this relationship. Your life."

Was he actually thinking about it? He had become such a large part of her word that Addie couldn't imagine her life without him. But it wouldn't be health. She took a long, deep breath, "As I prefer not to associate with people who don't respect me, yes. If you can't respect my choice when it comes to this fight, it's only a matter of time before that view of me carries over into more everyday things. It's better to just make a clean cut now."

Damon shook his head, "No, no. I don't want that. I respect you; I'm just terrified of losing you. And it sucks knowing that in picking to do everything your way, my best chance at protecting you involves you throwing yourself in harm's way. It's… God, it's Addie logic."

"Yes, my logic can be a bit unorthodox but I find it quite rational," Addie remarked casually, leaning against his bedpost. "What's your choice, Damon?"

Standing up from the edge of the bed, he took few a small step so he was enough to kiss. His fingers brushed softly against her cheek as he pushed her hair out of her face. Wasn't it obvious? His face was mockingly puzzled as he reminded, "Didn't I already tell you? I will _always_ choose you, Addison."

Damon leaned in to kiss her but Addie to a small step back. With her arms across her chest she offensively pointed out, "I'm serious about respecting my choices and my wishes, Damon. You _really_ hurt me. I get why but that doesn't make it right. There are no second chances this time. First slip and that's it. Understand?" Damon nodded. "I'm gonna sleep in the other room tonight."

He had really screwed up. As she began to walk away he suddenly remembered something and reached out and caught her left wrist. She turned and looked at him funny, pulling out of his hold. "Your hand," he said, nodding towards it. "I should heal it."

"I have bandAids," Addie decided, after studying the angry, red gash across the fleshy part of the palm.

"Are we gonna be ok?" Damon asked quietly as her hand landed on the door.

"Not tonight."

"Do you still _want_ this?"

Addie sighed heavily and spoke to the door, "You hurt me. I'm bothered and upset but I knew who I was getting involved with. I didn't it expect it to always be rainbows and butterflies. You may have noticed I have a problem committing to things; I've tried almost every sport for a season. Even if I'm hungry I don't eat if I can't decide what I want. I cycle through which classes I actually like. But if you haven't noticed, when I make a decision, I follow through and throw everything I have into it. Track, my music, not eating anything else until I eat what I crave. I know I was indecisive with you but it's scary to commit to something when you know you're going to give so much of yourself to it. But, I did make my decision on you and unless it turns unhealthy, I'm going to work to follow through because I am committed. That is what a relationship is: work. If you're tired of working and want to stop, that's up to you. On that note, I'm drained from crying and my emotions feel like they have been hit by a semi driven by a monkey. Goodnight, Damon."

* * *

**A/N: Nobody panic and wake the heretics. This is the longest chapter to date and it has one of the fastest turn around times since the last. Consider the products of my mania my Christmas gift to you. We have four chapters and a possibly a very short epilogue left. Now, lets discuss what will happen after that. **

**Do we:**

**A) Leave Addie and Damon alone and say Happily or Not Happily ever after?**

**B) Start a new story picking up at what would be a few weeks past the epilogue and just before season three **

**C) Leap forward in time to a different season (You guys still have absolutely no idea what's up with Addie's blood and or her ability to resist compulsion so I would start there but it's not the part of their story that I enjoy. (Someone has pointed out that this subplot isn't really clear so I'm guessing it's not clear to a lot of people. Before Addie could resist compulsion, Damon essentially had an anaphylactic reaction when he tried to drink her blood and would have died if he had tried to continue drinking her blood. He had already guessed this because her blood smelled too sweet. The healthier a person is, the sweeter their blood. Vampire blood smells sweetest of all. Except accept Addie's smelled sweeter. Recall that the apple Snow White ate was the most perfect and appealing apple but it was a trap. As soon as Addie could resist compulsion though, her blood smelled like a vampires and when Damon tried a tiny bit he got a rush. No, it's not suppose to make sense to you as to why the compulsion change seems linked to the blood change. The characters have to see that before you can and they will soon. Damon's not going to stand for Addie walking around smelling like a sweet blood bag and leave her vulnerable to where anyone can just feed on her.))**

**D) You propose an idea. **

**Leaning towards A. Might do B if there is enough interest. Now I'm gonna go sleep and eat for the first time in three days. **


	35. Chapter 38

After the run, Damon took the longest shower in history. He was _always_ quick; but when Addie was desperate for him to stick to his predictable, usual routine, he broke habit. There was another nasty little confrontation when she found him sitting outside her door again, hair still soaking wet. It wasn't that Addie wanted to make him feel even more guilty or hurt him but it was the only way to get rid of him.

There was no point in Damon being a watchdog because even on a good night she had problems sleeping. It wasn't possible for her to do so when every time she shut her eyes images of a dead Bonnie appeared. If she wasn't asleep then she wasn't going to have nightmares. And it was his problem if he had an issue with her wearing actual clothing as opposed to pajamas when she went to read in the study to pass the last of the night. Who knew when Stefan would magically appear in his own home? At least he hadn't questioned that excuse.

To make sure he was toughroughly upset, when Damon had insisted on lighting the fireplace, Addie had made a snippy remark about him trusting her to be safe alone around such a dangerous element that could kill her. Mocking his protectiveness of her had pushed his limit of patience with her and he was most definitely upset. When Damon got like that, he drank. A lot. When Damon drank like that, his ears weren't so sensitive.

Doing those nasty things to him had been a hard decision and as Addie stood in front of Elena's door, she faced another hard one. Did she drag Elena back in to hopefully working with Elijah? If they were going to go through with the doppelganger sacrifice, it would be nice to have her cooperation. The knowledge that she wouldn't actually die because of a magic potion might ease her nerves a little. The great question, though, was whether or not she would go tattling back to Damon and Stefan who, judging by his daggered state, were not eager to jump on the Elijah bandwagon.

It was too big of a choice for Addie; she'd let fate decide. Elena spent nearly an equal number of nights in Stefan's room as she did her own. If she was in her room, it meant she should be clued in. Quietly, Addie crept inside and looked at the huddle of blankets on the bed. In she was. Tiptoeing lightly, she made her way to the bedside. Slowly, careful not to wake and startle her, Addie placed her hand over Elena's mouth. Leaning into to her ear, she loudly whispered, "It's Addie. Don't scream."

At the sound of her sister's voice Elena bolted awake. The was something over her mouth but she still made to scream until she saw her sister hovering inches above her face. That was almost as alarming as if it were a stranger. Addie never did have a knack for subtly waking people and when she woke someone in the middle of the night it was never good. Sometimes Addie felt a burning need for someone to listen to three hours of nonsense at 2am. Other times she was suddenly inspired with a great idea and tried to rope someone into, like the time she convinced Jeremy to spray paint a superball black and play wall ball at midnight because it was too easy during the day. Then there was when she put into motion grand schemes; it had been the middle of winter and Addie convinced Jeremy to make it look like they had run away. They had a stupid little fort in the woods that Addie had been stocking with blankets and snacks for a week. Their parents freaked in the morning and called the police. The stupidest thing was that Addie had done it all because she was mad that they got grounded for something Elena couldn't even remember two weeks before the incident.

Elena knocked Addie's hand away but she clamped it back in place just as soon as Elena made to speak. Shaking her head vigorously Addie whispered in her ear again, "Silence. Damon's awake. Get dressed and meet me in the cellar. We can save you _and_ Bonnie but the boys won't play the game." Addie pulled back to see if Elena was going to go along with her. She nodded. Addie grinned widely at her and slipped out the room.

Down in the in the basement, Addie knelt in front of the cellar door as she faced the obstacle she had forgotten about. Damon had put a combination lock on it. The turn style locks always came with random numbers and Addie, along with everyone she knew, had always found it easier to just remember than rather than trying to reset the combination. Either way you had to remember something. However, it did make it pointless to try any numbers of significance to Damon. The movies made it seem to simple to break a lock by just listening for a click at the right number but it all sounded like metal brushing metal to her.

"I'll tell you the combination if you tell me why you're trying to get in there," yawned Elena as she joined her.

Addie snorted, "_You_ know the combination?"

Elena shrugged, "Damon told me."

"What? Why would he tell _you_ and not _me_?" she snipped back.

"Well, he said you had too much heart and were too naive and would try to get in," Elena recounted.

Addie tugged at locked in frustration and scowled, "He got the last part right."

"What's this all about, Ad?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course."

Addie nodded; she already knew that. "Do you trust Elijah?"

"No," hesitated Elena.

Not the answer she was hoping for but not really a shocker. "Do you still trust me if I trust Elijah?"

"I'm not in the mood for your games at 4:30 in the morning," avoided Elena.

Addie raised one shoulder and dismissively said, "It's a game of your life and your death; not mine. Your choice if you throw the dice or wait for Dumb and Dumber to play your turn."

"Which one's Dumber?"

"In intellect and street smarts Damon's Dumb but he hides it. Emotionally he's Dumber."

Elena scoffed, "Not true. Stefan has degrees from Yale and Harvard."

"And Damon doesn't see the point of having someone lecture at him when with his eidetic memory, reading is a far more effective learning method." Addie stalled, slightly reluctant to admit but wanting to defend Damon. "Not to boast but we both know I'm wicked smart and I actually care and try. Damon had never done an IQ test and it had been a few years since my last one so for one date we decided to get professi-"

"Hold up," interrupted Elena, "that's what you guys do for _fun_? Spend eight hours taking tests that don't make sense and answering bizarre questions?" Addie nodded. "There is something fundamentally wrong with that. And how is that even a date? You're tested by yourself."

"You compare results afterwards? The point is that he beat me by miles in everything but quantitative and analogical reasoning and spatial reasoning. The _only_ reason he did slightly better on inductive reasoning is because I don't like _probable_ answers; I like factual answers! Overall though, his base intelligence line is greater than mine," she admitted slightly bitterly.

Elena shook her head slowly as she tried to understand their relationship but she just wasn't getting it. A loud, she wondered, "Is _everything_ a competition or fight of some sort between you two?"

"Mmm...it's not a win-lose thing so much as it is a power struggle. Ever notice how much he likes to be in control? That's when he's bitchy," Addie pointed out, trying the lock again.

"So you're dating a male, vampire version of yourself."

Addie snorted, "Hardly. I'm usually fairly passive with him. Mostly because what he wants control over doesn't matter. Am I going to pout if we watch MSNBC? No, but he will if we watch CNN. Either way I get the news and it's not from FOX. If keeps being persistent about controlling a kiss and refuses to if he can't than fine; all the more enjo - " Realizing what she had been talking about Addie cut herself off and blushed. Quickly she jumped back to topic before Elena could say anything, "Combination?"

"First, why do you want to undagger Elijah," persisted Elena.

"How do-"

Elena gave her sister a cross look, "I'm not you but I can figure out why you want in there, _A)_ Only a daggered Elijah is behind that door and _B)_ Damon wants to keep it that way. Which begs me to ask why is he not down here trying to stop you?"

"He's not listening."

"He's always listening. He's _Damon_."

"Not always."

Elena frowned disapprovingly, "What did you do, Addison May?"

"What I had to in order to get him out of the way and it will have all been pointless if you don't tell me how to open this damn lock soon!" Addie snapped, her voice rising slightly.

"Look, if you think he's the answer then I trust you but I don't think I want to get mixed into this yet. Wake him up, take my car and go somewhere else. He will kill Stefan and Damon. I won't tell them anything but you know the first thing Damon is going to do is check on you when he wakes. I'll try to distract him with places you've might have gone so go somewhere he wouldn't think," Elena compromised. "Flaw: He's gonna notice my car is gone and you can't drive."

Addie smirked and tapped a finger against her forehead, "Pro: I drove dad's truck all the time when we took back roads camping and to the lake house and such. And in my screwed up mental state due to him, I'm in a world where I don't care about laws regarding a valid driver's license,"

"How _are_ you doing with that?"

"I haven't slept. I'm about to wake up someone that was betrayed when I said they were safe. I'm questioning whether I can actually handle Damon and being with him. I have to keep reminding myself Bonnie is alive. Oh, and I purposely hurt my boyfriend so badly that he would drink it away. I'd say I'm doing rather well. Doesn't sound too far off from me on a good day, no?" quipped Addie, pissed that her sister would even ask such a stupid question.

"The bad thing is that I can't tell if you're joking or not."

Burying her face in her hands Addie laughed, "Of course you can't. You don't _know_ me, Elena. I can't even remember the last time we liked each other. You want to know how we ended up in this screwed up little relationship square? You met the good and moral and praised and favored and _saintly _brother. The we met the bad and dark and damaged and emotionally fucked up and troublemaking brother. When two saints meet it's like destiny or fate. But when a saint like you meets a problem like Damon, you want to fix it and so you start to but you only leave a bigger problem. Troubled finds troubled. But one of the problems with troubled people is that they hold too tightly to what they have. Damon's held on too tightly to the the trouble he's had and now I might just shatter in his clutch. But because you're saints you and Stefan will never crush because you always believe in redemption and hope and because Damon and I are problems and trouble, we will _always _hold on to our saints, no matter how much we may hate them, because you guys will always believe that we can be better.

"But two saints are like superglue and that means I'm stuck with Damon in my life whether I'm with him or not. Truthfully, it's better when we fight, bicker and make up then when we use to just fight and bicker. Though it hurts a lot less when we fight and he acts like an idiot when we're not together…." Addie trailed off as she stared at the ground idly spinning the lock.

Elena blinked slowly; she wasn't even going to begin to try and understand that. All she knew and all that mattered was that Addie went from being mad at her to thinking about breaking up with Damon, which meant that was what was really bothering her. Elena knew that by now Addie was all talked out about how much she hated her and just used it as a smoke screen for when something else was wrong. For her to actually start talking about what was bothering her though, that was new and new was usually a bad sign. Maybe Elijah would get her mind off Damon.

"Combination's your birth month, your birthday, and your favorite number," Elena relayed, ruffling her sister's hair before going back to bed.

"Wait!" Addie called.

"What _now?_"

She had to be certain before she went through with this, "You rolling the dice?"

Huffing, Elena rolled her eyes, "I gave you combination."

"You should know, when Klaus was going to use Katherine, Elijah had a potion made that would revive her after the sacrifice. You still have to go through with it. Klaus has to do the ritual to be weak enough for Bonnie to kill him without killing herself," Addie admitted. "Still game?"

Elena considered this for a minute. "How long have you known about the potion?"

"It's possible he told me the night you made your deal?" Addie smiled innocently and shrugged questioningly.

"You never thought to tell me?!"

She shook her head, "I tell you, then you tell everyone and no one is looking for a way to stop Klaus _before_ he sacrifices you. I'd rather not put all my eggs in one basket but every other basket has broken and trusting in the potion is the only choice left because Klaus is _here_ and there's no more time for practice. The game has started."

Elena nodded, "Ok. You're right. I'll do it."

Addie scowled at the lock. _Who the hell changed the preset combination?! _Furiously she spun the dial until the arrow passed zero twice before landing on nine, counterclockwise to eight, full spin to eight again. Since infinity wasn't _technically_ a definable number Addie chose the number she could rotate to make the infinity sign. The lock unlatched.

Addie wasted no time pulling out the dagger rammed through Elijah's heart and sat by the door, waiting for him to wake. She wasn't exactly sure how angry he'd be at _her_ when he woke. Alaric was the one who had staked him. There wasn't exactly a guide book on reviving Originals and how long it took but it definitely wasn't five minutes.

Her foot tapped anxiously as she waited for Elijah to return to a living dead thing. While Damon wouldn't be listening, he also wouldn't be sleeping and the sun had to be up. Someone was going to come downstairs soon. Addie preferred that not happened but if it had to she'd want it to be Elena since Klaus needed her or Stefan since he didn't set him up to be daggered. Drunk Damon was an ever worse option than him sober. Sober he was reckless and would have at least baited Elijah; drunk he was damn near suicidal and either would be convinced that he could kill Elijah _or_ want Elijah to kill him. His moods were even less predictable when he drank. But either she had grown use to it or he actually had cut back quite a bit. One drink was still frequent but between his vampire metabolism, tolerance level, and how slow he drank it, Addie would guess that it was just for the taste or out of habit. There was no way he was feeling the effects when it took him as long to drink the alcohol as it would take a normal person to flush it from their system. She wondered why the change.

The charcoal ash tint of Elijah's skin and the way his skin clung to his veins and bones as if everything in between had been sucked out actually made it easier to look at him. Even though he _was_ dead, he didn't look like a dead body. Not like Bonnie had. Wasn't it suppose to take hours before a body - no, she couldn't let herself go there. Researching the process of what happened to a body after it died, what happened to her mom and her dad, had been too disturbing. She didn't need to remember that; she _hadn't_ thought about that since the night she met Damon. The night the nightmares stopped. The night he had compelled her. She was forgetting that he had done it as an experiment! Not to be a good person. Why did he make it so hard to hate him?

Instinct had Addie pressing herself hard against the wall when Elijah suddenly gasped and violently spasmed, his back arching up from the ground in a most unnatural way. She forced herself away from the wall and over to him as he continued to spasm and gasp for air. As the jerking and twitching eased, his skin returned to normal but was extremely pale. His breathing was getting worse, though. A _pop_ issued from Addie's neck as he was abruptly on his feet and she was straining to look up at him. She _loathed_ vampire abilities.

Her neck didn't suffer for long though as he was soon doubled over and grasping at his chest, unable to breath. Addie unhelpfully stammered out unintelligible sounds. She could feel her chest beginning to tighten as her heart slammed against her ribcage. The panic was going to overtake her. She had no idea what to do! Blood freaked her out because losing it meant you died. Choking, not being able to breathe freaked her out the exact same way. She need this guy to live. But he was already dead. Oh, God. Because she undaggered the dead thing, it was gonna be her fault when he died again. And because she figured out that pulling the dagger out _killed_ rather than revived an Original, it was gonna be her fault when Klaus killed Elena. Now _she_ was the one trembling viciously and struggling to breath.

Opening her eyes, Addie began to panic harder. Elijah was gone! The double dead vampire disappeared. None of this made any sense. She needed to think. She needed to run. But to run she needed to breathe. Covering a hand over her mouth so she couldn't keep gasping, Addie tried to count her breaths. No good. The air in here was musty and even more suffocating. She needed fresh air. As she still tried to count and breathe, Addie stumbled up the steps and to the front door. Her heart falter; just outside the door crouched a panting Elijah.

Sucking in a giant gasp of air, she whispered in amazement, "You're here." Relieved that he wasn't dead, her breathing began to become more regular. Had she really just thought he had vanished? That she had killed him by pulling the dagger out? Jonathan Gilbert wrote it revived. Plus, he would have died the _previous_ night when they pulled it out for the fake plan. It was a good thing that she wasn't going to be an EMT or ER nurse or doctor. A lot of people would die when she came face to face with someone immediately needing life saving treatment.

Again he shocked her into stumbling backwards when he rushed at her. A little sigh of relief escaped her when he couldn't enter. It _had_ probably just saved her life that Damon made this a safe house. That still didn't mean he should have coerced her into signing the deed.

Clutching at the door frame, Elijah fiercely demanded, "What happened?"

Addie quickly put a finger to her lips and said as quietly as she could, "Too many ears here." She quickly walked to the key ring and quietly removed them. Her foot almost crossed the threshold when she hesitated. A voice that sounded eerily like Damon said she was being reckless. Mentally she sneered at it; like it had any right to talk about reckless. Still. "Can I trust you?" she asked in a hushed tone.

Elijah eyed the dagger still in her hand and repeated, "Can I trust you?"

Her eyes followed his gaze. She was confused as to why she still even had the thing, Addie nodded and passed it to him without hesitation.

* * *

Damon glanced at the photo of him and Addie on top of the Ferris Wheel that sat on his nightstand. Five hours of staring at it with his buddies scotch and bourbon was enough. He preferred not to mix his liquors but when the bourbon only carried him from pissed to even more brooding and depressing than Stefan Damon needed something to push him to that point where he just didn't care anymore. Unfortunately the bourbon was in the study with Addie and neither wanted to be near the other at that point. That left the scotch. The pounding in his head told him the mix wasn't a wise move. He need to feed and rehydrated.

It hadn't been hard to pull himself together enough to brush his teeth and shower; he blissfully didn't care that he was fighting with Addie. She wasn't the only one who could suppress their emotions. He'd worry later about how unhealthy that was for a relationship. When Addie was a little less bitchy, he'd care. Until then the only attitude he would have towards her was protective. At least that was his stance until he started to shave. Since he hadn't shaved since Thursday morning, he normally wouldn't until Sunday night. While he didn't understand it, Addie liked him with a bit of a 5 o'clock shadow so he had cut down from shaving every day to every three or four. Shaving almost a full two days early was wrong feeling. He had started it unconsciously and had to finish it unless he wanted to look like an idiot for only shaving a small part of his face.

Shaving early wasn't a huge deal but they were in a pretty bad spot in his opinion. To make up for his blunder he had picked the RRL classic black Oxford. Damon could hold up his black Dolce &amp; Gabbana suit and black Valentino suit in front of Addie and she wouldn't even notice how they were completely different styles and cuts. He had to have at least ten black button ups, though, and while she never said anything about the others, every single time he wore the RRL she either said she liked it or made it very obvious that she found him more attractive than usual. Maybe it wasn't obvious to everyone else but the workings and understandings of their physical relationship were very complicated.

Damon took one last glance in the mirror and quickly ran his hand through his hair. There. It wasn't perfectly in place, which she didn't seem to like, but it wasn't so messy that it bothered him. At the door he hesitated and pushed his sleeves up halfway. She liked his arms, more specifically his biceps but it was either the them or the shirt. Really, the best idea was probably to go shirtless. No, walking around the house without a shirt only flew when Elena wasn't around.

Leaving his room, Damon debated between the hallway and the stairs. Fresh day. Fresh start. He had been kidding himself about not caring. Her being upset with him was torture. She needed her space but he could work on getting closer by offering something that she probably needed: a visit with Jeremy and Bonnie. He was the only one who could tell her where they were unless one of those twerps broke the gag clause. He'd check the room first so he wouldn't have to backtrack even though she was most likely in the study still reading a detective or true crime novel where everything added up and made perfect, logical sense because her world didn't.

He rapped lightly on the door three times. No answer. "Addie?" No answer. He knocked harder. No answer. He smirked, "Say something if you _don't _want me to come in." No answer because he found the room empty when he stuck his head in. Downstairs like he had expected.

"Ugh. Must you constantly do that in public?" Damon groaned as he ran into Stefan and Elena sharing an intense "good morning" kiss over a mug of coffee.

"No, see, you're confusing public and private. Where we live is private. School, where you were making out with my sister last night, is public. Have you considered asking yourselves that question?" Elena shot back, annoyed at being interrupted and still a bit upset with him for the incident with Bonnie.

Dramatically, Damon sagged his shoulders and tossed his back in exasperation, "That was the first time, _Mom._ Your sister gets embarrassed when I grab her hand in front of people we know. I'll admit to having kissed her in public when we haven't been in Mystic Falls but never like _that_. I'll take the blame for last night. I was trying to prove something and - well, it's really none of your business."

"You see," Elena smirked, "that's where you're wrong. Addie paid me a visit at about five in the morning for some rant on problems, troubles, and concerns. She's hard to follow but I gathered a few things I doubt you know about your own relationship and it became very apparent that she is a kid involved with a grown man and had no parents or guardians to stop it from happening. I'm seeing now that this relationship at least needs some moderation. I'm going to start - "

"What? What exactly are you going to do, Elena?" challenged Damon. The only reason he put up with her quasi lecture was because he'd been expecting it a long time ago. It was about damn time. "I'm _always_ going to do what is best for Addie in the long run, in the big picture, even if it means hurting her like I did last night or leaving her. You can't make me do anything besides that. The real question is how are you going to get Addie to do what you want?"

"I'll… I'll…"

"That's the problem!" he laughed, "No one _makes_ Addie do anything. I can't get her to follow a simple instruction even if it's in her own best interest! Elena, I assure you that if our relationship needs moderation, it's of exactly how much being with me is dragging her into all this danger versus how much comes just from being your sister. Addie wanted nothing to do with this world. When you and Bonnie were taken by Anna she wasn't so keen on playing savior then. Now, she's running in with stakes and daggers galore. Is she just growing up or is it something else?.Do you have an answer to that? Is it me or is it you?

"First she was kinda like 'You guys go have fun playing mind games and throwing yourselves at danger, I'll stay busy with life. I'm just gonna tell the witch we need to kill you all and help uncle John.' And then she goes, 'Well, I apparently don't want this guy to die for some reason but I don't want vampires here so I'm gonna team up with the only one I know that's more diabolical than him in a plot to get rid of the vamps.' Next Addie, well, she does a lot of flip flopping that you don't need to know the details of but in the end she says, 'I really like this Damon guy and I think I want to date him. Mmm no I don't. Wait, yeah, I do since we're team awesome because we freaking fooled Katherine Pierce to the point where she was impressed. That must mean something.' Then she's like, "Damon, we have to trust the bad guys. I trusted you and now we need to trust Elijah and Katherine and the Martins and the hungry lions. Oh, nevermind about Katherine, though. But you should still _definitely _trust the guy who wants you dead.' Now with the Klaus stuff she's like, 'Damon, I'm gonna have fun playing mind games with the biggest, baddest vampire ever and throw myself in danger. You can either be totally cool with that and laugh while I knowingly antagonize Klaus or I'll never speak to you again. And yes, I know I'm manipulating you but there's gonna be magic and vampires and werewolves and all we need to complete the fun now is a magical flying dragon!'

"And _trust me_, I'm well aware of how old she is. It's why a lot things are the way they are and they're not changing until she learns to grow up. I'm simply not going to have the age argument with you. I've lost count of how many times I've fought with your sister about it. If you want to know my stance and opinion I'm sure she will recite them word for word to you since you guys are so close now. And if you know something about my relationship that I don't," Damon scoffed, "I wouldn't act so high and mighty about it. It just means that I probably don't want to know and I'll know when the time is right, _if_ that ever comes to fruition."

"Stressing out with everyone thing that is going on is normal, Damon," Stefan said reassuringly as he watched his brother mess up his hair. That was very unlike him. "Especially with-"

"Stressed?" cracked Damon's voice before he laughed. "No, no. I'm not _stressed._ Cool as a cucumber, really. I just need to talk to Addie…. And I'm pretty hungry. Have you guys seen her?"

Elena shrugged, "Her room? She said she was going to bed after she talked my ear off."

Damon shook his head, "I already checked. I left her reading in the library about half past four, she's probably still there."

"Uh," Stefan frowned in hesitation, "You might want to eat before talking to her."

"This is more important," insisted Damon.

"I hate to add to your nonexistent stress but I was just in the study and Elena was just in the kitchen and could see into the living room and she wasn't in any of those places or her room. If she's not there than… well, you probably have better ideas to look than I do," Stefan informed his brother awkwardly, sorry he couldn't be of much help. "Any idea, Elena?"

She stared into the light brown coffee, swirling it, careful to not show deception, "It's Addie; she does weird stuff for reasons that don't make sense. But my guess is that she just took off on a run. She literally ran so much after our parents died that the rubber of her shoes wore really thin. After last night. and what she told me, I'm almost certain she's running."

Damon rubbed against the pounding in his head; he really needed some blood. More important, though, was that Addie had _still_ gone off on her own with Klaus out there. He had to know she was ok. "She probably won't answer me. Elena, can you try calling her just so I know she's safe?" he asked wearily. "I'm going to get something to eat."

Going for a blood bag, an apprehensive feeling came over Damon when he saw the basement door cracked slightly open. Elena probably didn't make sure to pull it all the way closed when she daggered Elijah; it was and had a tendency to stick. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, however, he let out a loud stream of very colorful language when he saw the cellar door open.

"What?" Stefan demanded in concern instantly appearing by his side.

Furiously stalking towards the door he continually repeated, "No, no, no, no! She did _not_! She wouldn't dare!" When he saw the room empty he hit his head against the door frame and swore, "For fucks sakes, Addison! When you're pissed at me you smash the expensive alcohol; you don't wake up the guy that wants me dead and is likely going to kill you."

Stefan shook his head in disbelief and confusion, "Elijah's gone?"

"No, he's here. She woke up the other guy we had locked up, you idiot!"

"That's - how did she even do that? I thought you didn't tell her the lock combination."

"I didn't," he seethed, closing the door and inspecting the lock to see if she had broken it. Realizing it was still intact and had been unlocked he bellowed, "_Elena!"_ Pushing past Stefan and storming up the stairs he muttered, "I _said _that guy was going to be more of a problem daggered than undaggered."

* * *

Addie stared anxiously at the tea set the Mrs. Lockwood had laid out while Addie waited for Elijah to change into one of the late mayor's suits. Elijah admitted that he had gotten her off of vervain and was compelling her. So far Addie wasn't doing very well at this. She had only barely remembered that it had been a month since Elijah had last fed and had run back inside for a couple of blood bags. Holding them hadn't settled well with her so much so that Elijah asked if she was ok. Then she had to make the recovering vampire think of a safe place to go and have him drive there due to the lack of license. Uncertain of where to start, the ride had been awkward and silent. Somehow opening with "sorry my boyfriend planned a party to kill you" didn't seem wise.

Seeing Elijah return, she quickly stood. Wasn't that something that in that etiquette training she had to do for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant? Addie wished she had paid more attention. But Elijah was quick to motion for her to sit again as he occupied a large, white arm chair. That's what she hated about the Lockwood manor. Everything was so _pristine_ and white. It felt sterile and unlived in. Her home was smaller but she lover the pictures of her and her siblings as they grew and the knicknacks that reflects their lives all around the place. It was cozy. The boardinghouse wasn't like that.

"Where did you get the dagger?" Elijah curtly asked, breaking through her thoughts.

At least he had given her a place to start. "I'll tell you everything but I want something in return," Addie said, her voice slightly quivering.

Elijah frowned as he steepled his fingers in front of him, "I believe the time for negotiation has already passed."

Addie shook her head, "Not if you want to kill Klaus. I am the only person in this world who knows where the moonstone is. I offer that, a lack of interference from my friends and family, and a cooperative Elena in exchange for the potion that will save her."

"And why should I consider this when I can simply compel the stone's location from you?"

Damon had wanted to keep it a secret that she could resist compulsion but she needed to work this deal with Elijah. "You can't."

He looked at her in almost disappointment, "You're forgetting that vervain eventually leaves your system."

"I remember. While you were unfortunately daggered, I became trained in how to resist compulsion. I've been working on it for most of the year." It was just a harmless little white lie; she didn't exactly know how being compelled by Damon, then being injured, then receiving his blood had made it so she couldn't be compelled. Only Damon had tried to compel her so far but in the gruesome _instruction manual_ from Katherine, when she did it, her victim couldn't be compelled by any vampire so that was what Damon and she were going with.

"It is Klaus who enjoys torture but I _will_ use it on you if I have to get the moonstone," warned Elijah, truly sounding as if he prefered not to.

Again she shook her head, "That will never work. I'm afraid you're underestimating the lengths I will go to for my sister. I would die before betraying the stone's location."

"Seems you're quite certain."

"She's family."

Elijah fixed himself a cup of tea with milk and sugar and poured on for Addie before sitting back and silently sipping at it for several minutes. Eventually he set the cup back down and looked at her curiously, "What did you know of the dagger?"

Addie took a deep breath as she recalled, "I learned of the dagger the night you saved Damon from the werewolves, for the second time. Alaric Saltzman made a remark that night about Damon thinking twice before trusting it to kill you. I told you at the dinner party it was a trap as soon as I knew. I was trying to save you from it. I didn't think Alaric would dagger you. _You_ are the only answer I had and have to this Klaus problem. I would be stupid not to turn to you. Why Damon can't get past his jealousy and that I trusted you faster than I trusted him, I don't know. Elena, I only told her of the potion this morning and that you were the answer to our problems. _That's_ why she helped me undagger you but she refused to come along to talk to you. Why? I don't know. Everyone seems to think I'm crazy for trusting you but I think they're crazy for not trusting you."

The old vampire nodded wisely, "Despite your interest in the elder Salvatore, you determine who you trust based on logic and reasoning rather than emotions, unlike most people. Plus, betraying people you make deals with tends to make it difficult to face them again. I will work with you on the condition that I receive an apology from both Salvatores, your sister, and Mr. Saltzman. I will not give you the burden of convincing your uncle as he is a lost cause."

"Two things," wavered Addie. "An apology from Alaric isn't exactly possible and I promise to explain why. Though, I don't understand why you need an apology from Stefan and Elena."

Elijah was taken aback by this. "Obviously for daggering me."

"They had nothing to do with that. They were out of town," she pointed out.

He studied her curiously, "Addison, what do you know from the moment that I was daggered to the end of the night?"

Odd question. "Um, Damon heard a commotion in the dining room. I followed him there but he wouldn't let me in. He didn't want me to see you desiccated. I was really angry with him and I meant to go home but I had said some pretty regrettable things that I needed to apologize about before leaving. I was in the study listening to some music and the next thing I knew Damon was waking me. He told me that he hadn't truly killed you and that if it came down to the wire, he would remove the dagger, you would wake, and…. Well, I'd really rather not give you more reason to kill him but he was convinced that we'd get the potion and save Elena."

"He, _no one_ told you of the events that transpired after they struck me the first time?" concluded Elijah in amazement. Deception ran so deep.

Addie froze, her tea cup halfway to her lips. No one? First time? She was being kept in the dark again but not just by Damon this time. "Excuse me?"

"John Gilbert, Mr. Saltzman, Mr. Salvatore, one of them removed the dagger. I woke up in that cellar. Our deal for a peaceful evening had been broken. I was merciful; I spared everyone in the house despite my promise otherwise. However, it was obvious that I could not maintain my deal with your sister if her friends were plotting to kill me. I did not take her prison out of courtesy but I was left with no choice. Just as you will do anything to save your sister, I will do anything to take down my brother Klaus." He held up a hand when Addie went to interrupt and continued reiterating the story monotonously, "I went to take Elena and she tried to make more deals but it was all a ruse. When your sister neared me, she sunk the dagger into my heart."

Damon's actions had almost gotten Elena kidnapped? It was unlikely Elijah would have bothered to use the potion in the sacrifice meaning Damon not respecting her wish to trust Elijah could have possibly gotten her sister killed. Her thoughts were broken as the theme to _Star Wars_ emitted into the silent room.

The music grew louder as Addie took the cell from her pocket and glanced at the caller ID, Elena. She flushed in embarrassment, fumbling to silence her phone. "I'm so sorry," she said profusely. "I have no idea why it isn't on vibrate. It's always on vibrate."

Elijah waved his hand dismissively as the music stopped. "It's no bother. Are you sure you shouldn't get that?" he inquired when it immediately began to vibrate after she declined the first call.

Addie bit anxiously at her lip; it was rude to take a phone call but Elena wouldn't call back to back unless something was wrong. If she wanted something, she would text; especially since she knew Addie was meeting with Elijah. Reluctantly, she smiled apologetically at the Original, "If you don't mind. I don't think Elena would repeatedly call unless there was an emergency." Elijah nodded and she accepted the call.

"Tell me you're ok! Are you insane? Where are you?" Damon rushed out in a mixture of anger and panic.

"I recall my sister sounding much more feminine. You are most definitely not Elena," scowled Addie. Dealing with Damon was not something she had time for.

From the other end of the line Damon seethed, "I'm not playing games. Are you ok?"

Inhaling dramatically, Addie made him wait as she made it seem like she had to consider the answer before sighing, "No, I'm talking to you. Other than that I'm perfect."

"Where's Elijah?" he fumed.

"With me, of course. We were having a lovely little chat over tea before you so rudely interrupted."

Addie could imagine the way his jaw tense as he gritted through his teeth, "_Where_ are you?"

"It's a secret party. Invitation only. No crashers," she said lightly, refusing to let his anger trigger her own. "Elijah and I need some time alone."

"Oh, my God, Addie! You're mad; I get it. That doesn't mean you act reckless. You _cannot _trust him," stressed Damon.

She eyed Elijah hesitantly, "Unlike some people, Elijah is a noble man of his word, Damon. He lives by a code of honor. I can trust him. By warning him about your plan of at the dinner party and removing the dagger, I have proven myself."

"You _what?_ Addie, you cannot do this."

"This is my decision, Damon. I ask that you respect it. You know the consequences if you don't, though. I'm asking you nicely to not do anything stupid. I'll be in touch," Addie informed him in the most collected, rational voice she could muster up in dealing with him. Ending the call, she turned back to Elijah and apologized, "I'm sorry about that. It was not what I was expecting. Where did we leave off?"

Clearing his throat, Elijah sat up straighter, "I was nearing my demands for working with you. I want an apology from Stefan and Elena for daggering me."

"Right," Addie recalled slowly. With wide, innocent eyes she looked back up, "I swear I had no idea about. When Damon told me that removing the dagger would revive you I assumed he learned that from Katherine or Uncle John when he gave him the dagger or that Elena and Stefan read it in Jonathan Gilbert's journal when they read that it would also kill Damon if he used it. I'm sure it's no coincidence that Damon didn't mention he learned from first hand experience and put my sister in harm's way."

"I believe you. Your confusion and surprise were genuine when I mentioned them," conferred Elijah, pouring more tea into Addie's empty cup.

Thinking aloud, Addie considered if she could meet his demands, "Elena trust me when I put my trust in you; she will apologize. Stefan trusts in Elena and will do whatever she wishes; he will also apologize. Damon, on the other hand, while he says he's going to respect my choices when it comes to dealing with Klaus and will go along with whatever I say, I'm not certain how far I can trust him on that before he decides that my safety is most important. Not only that, there is the matter of his pride to contend with." Addie ran her fingers through her hair, feeling her stomach clench in a mixture of anger, hurt, and desperation. "Even when he has wronged me, Damon isn't the best at apologizing. I _can't_ recall the last person he apologized to besides me. No apology from him will be sincere."

The vampire nodded knowingly, "I don't expect it to be."

"Then why demand one?" Addie asked in confusion.

Elijah caught her eye and his spoke more than his words. "Damon Salvatore needs to learn the meaning of respect."

This was about getting Damon to apologize for betraying _her_ trust, not Elijah's. Elijah wanted her to get him to prove that he was sorry enough to her that he was willing to take the blow to his ego of apologizing to Elijah. Baffled Addie wondered, "Why?"

"I once said you reminded me of the potential of a girl I use to know. Part of what ruined that potential was too many Damon Salvatores. If one does not feel respected, they begin to not respect themselves."

She grinned and laughed cheekily, "And they say _you're _the bad guy. Now, if only I could convince the rest of the lot that I'm not still some weak kid who can't defend herself."

Elijah shook his head, "I don't believe they feel that way at all. Don't confuse their love and desire to protect you with underestimating you. We are most protective of the ones we care strongest about and think that they need use even when they don't. The problem you're facing is that you think differently than the others. As a way I believe you would put it, they follow the textbook's method to solve the equation while your mind sees another way to the right answer."

"That _is_ how they tried to explain my dyslexia to me," Addie smirked.

"But I bet it doesn't slow you down," he grinned back. "While some things may take you a little longer but your results exceed expectations."

While pointing out that he hadn't phrased that in a logical way didn't seem wise, Addie understood Elijah's point. She frowned, "Unfortunately, we don't have time for me to convince Damon for the same reason I can't get Alaric to apologize."

"And why is that?"

"We're still negotiating," objected Addie, refusing to inform him of anything until he agreed to help. "Say Damon doesn't apologize; if everyone agrees to keep him locked in the cellar weakened by vervain until this is over so he can't interfere, would that be satisfactory enough?"

Elijah studied her in mild surprise, "You would be willing to do that? To put him through that?"

"Are you underestimating the lengths I would go to for my sister, again?" challenged Addie.

"He _is_ your boyfriend; you do care very strongly for him. He would be in an immense amount of pain."

It was a challenge to not roll her eyes; she knew all that. Swallowing past the lump in her throat was difficult but she nodded in assent. "I'm not hoping for this option. Damon promised me he would do whatever it takes to save Elena. If he can't handle damaging his pride, then he will have to sit out on the sideline if that is what it takes to save her. He's not going to agree and will have to be tricked, though. Hopefully he will forgive me but if he can't do that or manage a simple apology all to save my sister's life, then he's not the man I thought he was. I told you; Elena's family. She comes first. She will always come before some guy."

The lengths that she was willing to go, hurting someone else to save her family, was nothing Elijah hadn't done himself. He had never faced having to hurt someone he loved for family, though. While it was a terrible thing, it was something he was uncertain he'd be able to do. In his mind, saving family was the noblest thing anyone could do. It was her conviction in her willingness to hurt Damon that made Elijah put out his hand to strike the deal. Besides, he would never torment her with actually having to do that. He'd just chain the arrogant little pest up if he really became a problem.

Addie eyed the hand warily, "You will provide the potion to save my sister and no one I care about will come to harm for betraying you?"

"Yes. You will do your best to secure apologizes from all and provide the moonstone and cooperating Elena. We both understand what happens if Mr. Salvatore refuses to apologize," agreed Elijah, laying out his terms. After they struck hands, Elijah grimaced and tugged at his collar uncomfortably. "I need some air. I'm feeling a tad… dead. You can catch me up on why Alaric Saltzman cannot apologize and where the situation currently stands outside."

Suddenly eager to get the worst news out, as soon as they exited to the back of the Lockwood manor Addie blurted out, "Klaus is here and he's possessing Alaric."

The only reaction the vampire had was a small nod and sighed, "Of course he has. One of his favorite ticks."

"Ooook," Addie drew out, looking for something more helpful. "Well, we kinda had a show down with him last night so he knows we know. What's he going to do next? You're the one that knows him. Was I hallucinating when I heard you say he was your brother? It's been over 24 hours since I slept and I tend to do that," she rabbled as Elijah kept quiet.

After walking several minutes in silence, Elijah looked at her and answered, "You know that blood does not define a sibling. Klaus is now my brother only by blood. I still know him, however. I want to start at the beginning though. Daggering me would have released Katerina. Where does she stand in this?"

"Surprisingly, Damon let her live after she encouraged him to use the dagger, knowing it would kill him. She was on board with helping us take down Klaus so she could stop running but a better looking offer came along. She was betrayed and Klaus took her," relayed Addie. She worried she might be crossing a socially appropriate line but curiosity demanded, "You wanted to save Katherine from Klaus' sacrifice because you loved her, yet you wanted her to pay for her betraying Klaus?"

"There was a time I would have done anything for Klaus but that has long since passed. Over the centuries Klaus has daggered my family one by one."

A chill ran through Addie as she stopped dead in her tracks. In disbelief she whispered, "A whole family of Original?"

"Yes. I can see your shock. I believe the term you want is 'O.M.G.'" quipped Elijah, walking back to her.

"Unlike most of my peers, I prefer to use full words. Though, that would be how Caroline or Elena might respond," Addie muttered distractedly. That was a whole family of unkillable vampires that could be undaggered.

Hoping movement would help ease the shock Elijah put his hand on her shoulder and gently guided her forward. "My father was a wealthy landowner in Eastern Europe. Our mother bore seven children."

"Wait, your parents were human?" Addie smacked herself in the forehead, "Of course they were; vampires can't procreate."

"True. We weren't born vampires, though. Our origin as vampires is a very long story, Addison. Just know that we are the oldest vampires in the world. We are the _Original_ family; from us, all vampires are created," Elijah spoke as if teaching a class. "So as you've seen, nothing can kill an Original. Not Sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite. But there has to be one exception to every rule; however, my family made sure to burn down that tree."

"A white oak stake," deduced Addie, her brow furrowed. "That's where the white oak ash for the dagger comes from. That's why it takes you down. But it's not enough to kill you."

The vampire nodded, "Yes. The witches won't allow anything truly immortal to walk the earth. Every creature needs a weakness in order to maintain the balance."

Addie stopped again and crossed her arms in front of her, staring expectantly at Elijah. "Let me get this straight: all this is so Klaus can break a Sun and Moon curse when the sun doesn't even kill him? And if it _did_, why wouldn't he just get a daylight ring? We're gonna break a cure so _all_ vampires can suntan? I'm sorry but I don't understand why a guy would spend his life of that mission. Especially as one that seems as self absorbed as Klaus."

Elijah laughed, "I _did_ say I liked you. Don't you find the curse of the sun and the moon so… biblical sounding?"

"No," she scoffed. "It's sounds more like Greek mythology. There's no obvious lessen and the story makes no sense. Werewolves get to live normal, happy lives except for one night of the month while _every single day_ vampires have to live in the shadows. Not to mention that they have to be sorta cannibalistic. And they have a never ending desire to kill. Yeah, they get to live forever but for how long can you live in the same place? And it's not like they can have a family. So, sure it's safer for everyone else if vampires are cursed but out of the whole vamps versus wolves things, I think they already got the crappy end. A _good_ curse would have made things fair."

He laughed harder, "I think you'll find varying opinions on who gets the better deal. But making it fair is what a good curse would have done. However, people aren't interested in breaking an ok curse. That's why Klaus created a bad one. People want to break a bad one. Klaus created a fake curse and planted it all over the world so everyone would be searching for the two things he needs to break the real curse."

This time, Addie didn't hold back on rolling her eyes, "Of course Klaus created a fake curse to distract from the truth." Just like Damon faked Bonnie's death to distract from the truth. Damn psychotic, serial killing narcissistic vampire and their evil but genius dublicity.

"You don't seem surprised," Elijah smirked.

She shrugged, "I never took much interest in the curse. Sounded too much like a Brother's Grimm story to me. Plus, I'm beginning to become jaded to the lengths a bad guy will go to in order to reach what they want." Damon wasn't _bad_ bad, though. He was just on the extreme end of the stereotypical bad boy. "The real curse is undoubtedly something personal. What is it?"

"Why do you figure that?"

"Because he's just that into himself and I don't see him spending his life on behalf of someone else," she retorted bitterly, ignoring her phone buzzing from a call a third time.

She was quick. Elijah nodded slowly, "It's a curse on him that he's been trying to break for the last thousand years and Elena is his last hope. Your phone will not stop its incessant buzzing. Answer it, please."

"It's gonna be Damon ordering me back," Addie warned.

"I can wait for a phone call."

She scowled at the caller ID and jabbed at the button to answer, "I said do-"

"Klaus went after Jenna," Damon abruptly interjected, before she could start ranting. He asked Elena to call but _no_, she was too busy comforting Jenna. He had even asked Stefan but _no_, he had to comfort Elena. So he was stuck calling the girlfriend he was mad at and who was mad at him.

Addie's heart began to race and blood pounded in her ears. She had even noticed she dropped her phone until Elijah was holding it out to her. Shaking, she held it back up to her and quivered, "Tell me."

Damon sighed with false reluctance, "You should get back here." If he could get her home he could keep her safe from Elijah.

"Tell me, Damon!"

The easiest solution would be to tell her that Jenna was dead and that would send her running home. Her voice already told him that it was what she thought. He couldn't do that though; especially not after last night. The fake death card wasn't an option. "She's not doing well, Ads."

"Well give her your blood. It's not rocket science!" Addie cried, nervously running her fingers through her hair. She wasn't dead but… but there was still time.

"It's not like that. Physically, she's ok. Emotionally, not so much. She saw Stefan turn because Klaus as Alaric was blabbering on about vampires or something and Stefan needed to get her out of the house but she wasn't believing, and, well, she knows about -"

Addie shook her head, "Nope. Nu-uh. _Elena_ wanted this supernatural stuff, _she_ can deal with the fallout. And _seriously_, Damon? You and I both know I don't handle the emotional crap. Low blow trying to convince me back."

"You can't just -"

She silenced her phone and shoved it back into her pocket. Curiously, she followed Elijah as he began to walk back towards the manner. "So, what's his curse."

"My family was quite close, but Klaus and my father did not get on too well. When we became vampires, we discovered the truth. Klaus was not my father's son. My mother had been unfaithful many years before. This was her darkest secret. Klaus is from a different bloodline. Of course, when my father discovered this, he hunted down and he killed my mother's lover and his entire family. Not realizing, of course, that he was igniting a war between species that rages until this day. That is partly how Klaus came up with the story behind the Sun and Moon curse," recounted Elijah.

"Um," Addie stalled, she didn't want to sound stupid but, "isn't the werewolf gene passed down, making Klaus a werewolf? But he's a vampire? So, he's like a vampwolf or werepire?"

"He's been using the term hybrid," corrected Elijah with distaste. "A hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power. Therefore the witches, the servants of nature, saw to it that my brother's werewolf side would become dormant."

Addie brows knitted together as she surmised, "And Klaus wants to make it active."

He nodded that she was corrected, "If allowed, Klaus would sire his own bloodline. He'd build his own race. Endangering not just vampires, but everyone.

Her frowned deepened as she realized something, "There's no chance of using the dagger on him, is there?"

Elijah shook his head this time, "When a werewolf is wounded by silver, it heals. An Original can't be killed by anything but white oak ash on a silver dagger. So you see the conundrum."

"That leaves magic," she muttered, thinking back to Bonnie. _Dead Bonnie_.

"There's one way to kill any supernatural species...at the hands of the servants of nature themselves," confirmed Elijah. "Which brings me to the Martin witches?"

Addie inhaled sharply, not anticipating that question. "I don't want to lie but I also don't want to give you more reason to kill Damon."

Elijah frowned, "You should consider the implications of having to say that twice now. You already have my word."

"About daggering you," Addie pointed out, "not about anything else."

"You listen and remember when you make deals; that's wise. A tip to improve your technique: make your demands all inclusive. Though, I do not intend to kill Mr. Salvatore for anything that occurred while I was daggered," resigned Elijah. Unless he had hurt Addison; Damon wasn't the only one who felt protective of her. Her wit and intellect reminded him too much of Rebekah. Had they never been turned, perhaps his sister wouldn't have had her heart broken too many times and wouldn't have felt so entitled. She'd be more like Addison, perhaps. Though, she needed to become more like Rebekah in some ways; she had the fierceness and independence of his sister but not the confidence or self-esteem.

"I'll remember that. Thank you. Anyways, there was a bit of a misunderstanding. An invisible force that we didn't know was Luka tried to undagger you, Damon thought a flamethrower was an effective solution to ghost, Dr. Martin went after Elena because he was upset and grieving, and Katherine killed him," recollected Addie as quickly as possible.

Elijah's brows furrowed, "The unfortunately we're down a witch with enough power."

Addie hesitated, not wanting to offer up Bonnie unless it was safe for her, "After the sacrifice, Klaus will be weaker than usual? Like a lot weaker?"

"The curse must be broken during the full moon. When Klaus is in transition. That's when he'll be at his most vulnerable. A witch with enough power...can kill Klaus."

"You were looking for the site of the witch massacre to channel that power for Dr. Martin, yes?" He nodded. Addie smirked, "As much trouble as he is, Damon was the only reason we found that site. I have a witch that can channel up that much power and is more than ready to take down Klaus.

* * *

Addie frowned as she heard crashing and clattering as she inserted her key to the boardhouse into the old lock. "I'm sure that's a good sign," she muttered, pushing the door open. Turning to Elijah she smiled awkwardly, "You're welcome to come in but please, do pardon whatever mess is currently being made." Stepping further inside she looked at the living room and through the kitchen; all was calm there. Another crash. Addie was distracted by the door opening again.

"What's going on?" Elena demanded, dropping her pursue by the door. She had just taken a very shaken up Jenna home and was not in the mood for one of Damon and Stefan's pissing matches.

Addie held up her hands innocently, "We just walked in. I know less than you. Actually, I know more. It's coming from the library." At least those consecutive thuds sounded like books falling. With Elena right on her heels and Elijah a few feet behind, she rushed in that direction. One of the side tables was smashed, as was a chair, it looked like a body had flown into one of the bookshelves and the brothers had each other by the shoulders, with the obvious intent of harm. Addie exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing?"

At the same time, Elena yelled a commanding, "Stop!"

Damon couldn't care less about what Elena wanted but it was Addie's voice that made him break away from Stefan. _Finally,_ she was home safe and - "Have you lost your mind?" he snapped, spying Elijah just behind the sisters. "You've invited him in? The question is what the h-"

"Elijah and I have created a new deal," Addie said loudly, cutting Damon off.

"Oh, really?" he grinned, feigning surprise. "That's just wonderful, marvelous news!"

Elijah looked at the two other vampires and Elena, "The three of you will come to no harm at my hands. I only ask three things in return: Elena's cooperation, which she has agreed to, the moonstone -"

"Oh!" Addie had almost forgotten. She pulled it from her back pocket and passed it to Elijah. "Here."

"You undaggered him to hand over your sister and the moonstone!" exclaimed Damon, pulling at his hair in frustration. "Wait," he grinned slyly, anger flickering in his eyes, "I forgot about your delightful little tea party. Addie, I told you I-"

"Shut. Up. For once in your life just shut up." Though her voice was quiet, Damon had never heard it so filled with rage, effectively stopping him. Addie looked Elijah, her voice had returned to normal when she said, "And your last request?"

"An apology," Elijah said simply, looking at the other three occupants.

"A what?"

Elena nodded, "I apologize for tricking and daggering you."

Stefan came closer so he could shake Elijah's hand said, "I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death. I was protecting Elena. I will always protect Elena."

Everyone's eyes landed on Damon who scowled, "Is that potion still part of the deal?"

"It is."

"And you're trusting him?" he asked Addie with a raised eyebrow. She nodded. Damon ran a hand over his face as he considered this. It was obvious that they'd simply lost their minds. They were scared and running. "You can all go to hell," he decided, storming off to his room.

Stefan tried to apologize for his brother's behavior, "He's angry with me right now. He'll-"

"Nu-uh," Addie interrupted, glaring at Stefan. "He's angry with me to but that doesn't give him the right to be a dick. Elijah, will you please fill in Elena and Stefan on the finer details of the plan? I'm sure everyone will feel much more comfortable when they know more. I'm going to try and talk to Damon."

Addie tried to take deep, calming breaths on the short trip to Damon's room but they didn't help. Breathing might work for anxiety but it had never worked when she was angry at Elena and it definitely didn't help now that she was pissed off with Damon. Whatever therapist had told her deep breathing meant blowing out the anger must have been blowing out the smoke of whatever hippie love drug he'd been on. Still she needed to be the rational one in this. She could handle her anger better than he could. But it was possible Addie was more angry. Without out knocking, she entered his room, closing and locking the door behind her. It would give her another half second to try and be rational with him while he messed with it.

Damon stopped unbuttoning his shirt, closed his eyes and counted backwards from ten. Only one person would be foolish enough to come into his bedroom without knocking. Addie, because she had an open invitation. Not turning from his window he barked, "Out." Her footsteps came closer. "Get out, Addie." She'd stopped but she wasn't leaving. He'd just have to make her. Knowing she'd hate it, he sped over to her. Damn it. She didn't startle, jump back or simply _leave_ because she knew he was trying to piss her off. He'd need to try harder.

Her hair felt like silk around his hand as Damon held the back of her head so she couldn't pull away. He lowered his face to right in front of hers and softly warned, "I'm upset. You know what happens when I'm upset. You have to leave."

"You won't," she insisted, shivering slightly as his lips ghosted along her jaw. When she felt them press against the side of her neck, Addie sternly reminded, "You _can't_."

The scent of her cucumber melon shampoo filled his nose. Damon hummed thoughtfully, pressing a kiss just behind her ear before tauntingly whisper into it, "I think you're wrong. Remember yesterday when I cut you and used the same knife to cut myself without cleaning it first. That little bit was a rush. I can only imagine…. Or perhaps I'll find out if you don't _leave. Now._"

Addie made to slap him but he easily caught her by the wrist and looked at her boredly. She fumed, "You _dick_! Do you think you're the only one who gets to be pissed?"

"No but of the two of us, I'm the only one who can actually use my anger against the other, as you can obviously see," he smirked, nodding towards the wrist he still held.

This wasn't fair! Yes, they had both hurt each other. Yes, they needed to work it out. How was anything suppose to work if everything was a struggle for power. He _always_ had the advantage. Because of what he was, who he was, they couldn't even argue fairly. Or could they? It was a low move and wrong and beyond manipulative and it probably wouldn't work but she just might win this fight. After all, Damon was still just a man.

Addie yanked her wrist from his grip so her hand could grab at one side of his collar, as her free hand already had the other. Before Damon could register what was happening, she was kissing him. She felt him breathe out in surprise against her mouth, and then they were kissing hard and hot and intense. Despite being surprised and angry with her instinct had him responding instantly; he would always respond to her.

It didn't take Damon long to figure out what Addie was up to. The sudden intensity and pressure and that delicious way she really bit at his lip, it wasn't Addie's style. It was all too aggressive. She was angry and taking it out on him the only way she could figure out how. Of course she would do something like this. His Addie didn't yell and scream or handle her anger in any health way; she suppressed it. Damon knew that method could only work for so long before someone snapped and she had. He definitely didn't mind, though. Hell, he was angry at her too. This was far more constructive than yelling at each other or him accidentally killing her. But _why _did being with her have to make him so _moral_? He'd had angry sex plenty of times; it was one of his favorite kinds of sex. But Addie…she'd regret this.

Reluctantly, he let go of her bottom lip. Turning his head had never been so hard as when she went to kiss him again. His voice was torn as he couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. "You don't want this. Not like this, Addie."

"Pretty sure I'm tired of you making decision for me," she snapped.

He scowled as her lips pressed along his jaw, "I'm warning you one last time. I get that you're upset but so am I. We both know I make mistakes when I'm upset. You need to go."

"Just shut up," fumed Addie. She wanted to kiss him but that was proving difficult when he wasn't cooperating and insisted turning his head. It wasn't like she could just grab him as she needed both her hands at his collar to help her balance on her toes just to stay within kissing distance. It frustrated her to no end that even in this they weren't equal. Addie had felt him kissing her back; his hand was still on her hip with his thumb brushing the skin just above her jeans. He wanted this just as much as she did. "Damn it, Damon! Do you want to be pissed off by yourself or together? I pick together."

Damon's jaw clench as he accused, "Why are you trying to make me be the bad guy?"

"I'm not _trying_ to make you be anybody! But maybe I miss the guy who didn't care so much!"

And there it was. Yes, she was mad about the previous night and him being over protective and a little over reactive. The reason she was so pissed off hadn't made sense until just then though: she was so upset because the fact that he loved her scared her. Or she was truly mad that he loved her. Both irked him.

"Fine," he growled, picking her up and letting her legs wrap around his waist, "I'll be that guy."

Not caring so much was the plan when he had started his day; it seemed like a mighty fine idea to go back to. Except when her hands found purchase in his hair and tugged, the groan he bit back proved it was impossible. Damon didn't give a damn if the rest of the house overheard them but Addie would. When she stopped being so angry, she'd be mortified. That's why he had to move to fumble on his dresser for the damn sound machine. The fact that he couldn't stop caring was irritating the hell out of him.

The sound of a wave crashing filled the room just as Addie felt Damon tense up. He took back control of the kiss, biting at her lower lip until she shuddered, nipping at the corner of her mouth. Hold up! Addie pulled him back by the hair as she leaned, effectively breaking them apart. He did _not_ get to take control of her kiss; that wasn't how it was going to work. Unfazed by his glare she demanded, "Down."

Damon shook his head and countered, "Bed," already moving towards it. He dropped her on to the bed a little more carelessly than he normally would have. But this wasn't like normal. Though, he did pause to wait and see what she did. Had she been trying to stop him or be in control? Addie did stop to kick off her low-cut converse but she was soon moving to the center of the bed. He followed her, thankful she had been wearing high tops; Damon was not in the mood to wait.

Hovering over her, Addie decided to let him have a minute of control. His lips crashed into hers with a bruising pressure, demanding entrance. The taste of tea reminded him of Elijah and just how angry he was. Growling, he nipped hardly at her lip and felt her hiss in pure pain. Instantly, he pulled back, swearing, "Shit." It was just a little bit but he could taste sweet, delicious blood on his front teeth.

"Fuck!" Damon cursed again moving onto his back. "Ads, I'm so-"

"_Shut. Up_," she emphasized, swinging her leg over his hips. When would he get that his voice was simply making her more upset with him. "I love this shirt," she muttered thoughtfully, "but it has to come off."

Making to undo the buttons he hadn't reached when she came in, Damon was surprised to find that Addie had already undone them. She was staring at him expectantly and he didn't like it. Though he felt bad for having just hurt her, she wasn't letting it slow her down so he wouldn't either. Deciding to sit up made Addie shift in his lap but she simply smirked, wrapped her legs around him, and pressed herself closer to him. Her heart was pounding. Damon was almost always the one to take the lead in these sort of situations. She roughly attempted to push off his shirt but Damon squared his shoulders and locked his arms around her. Two could play her little game.

Damon gave Addie a sly grin and shook his head. "That's not happening until this," he tugged on the back of her plaid purple and black button-up, "comes off. You _do_ wear so much plaid."

"Damn it, Damon," she spat, smacking his shoulder. It didn't hurt but he didn't miss her lack of playfulness like usual. "You're not being fair."

"There's _nothing_ fair about this," he murmured against her neck, just before biting over that oh, so sensitive spot. Her breathing hitched as she tensed in surprise. A little more pressure and she was relaxing into him. Better. He continued to increase his bite until she was pliant against him, one hand at his head holding him in place and the other digging into his back. Perfect; she wasn't about to try anything. He slipped his arm from around her to under where her shirt rested on her shoulders. Silk skin glided beneath his hands as he pushed the cloth out of position. As Damon slid the shirt down her, he took the spaghetti straps of her black tank and adjusted them to lay against her upper arms.

When Damon moved to kiss her bare shoulder, he felt her small, warm hands pushing flat against his chest. That was enough of his teasing for Addie. Clearly they weren't seeing eye to eye on how the whole "angry makeout" worked. It wasn't a time for teasing and sensual. She pulled his face close to hers and demanded, "Take it off."

As Damon shrugged out of the shirt, Addie resumed kissing him fiercely. Her lip wasn't bleeding anymore, at least. It had just been a scrape. He would simply have to be more careful. Anger flared up again when he tasted tea but he forced it back; he couldn't afford to get that upset with her. It was easy to push that aside when her hands were leaving paths of fire up his chest, down his biceps, over his back. Damon was anticipating her usual path of light kisses along his jaw, down his neck, then sinking her teeth in just enough to make him groan, afraid of hurting him. Apparently being pissed at him threw that caution out the window. When she aggressively went straight for the attack, a lightning shot through him. His head tilted to give her better access, his back arched, his grip under her tank was sure to leave a mark from tightening, and he had to quickly move to curl his fingers around her bare shoulder to avoid pulling too hard at her hair. "Fuck, Ads," he swore under his breath. He felt her tense and start to ease up, afraid that she'd hurt him but Damon held her closer and whispered encouragingly, "It's good, love. Really good."

For another minute Addie continued worried at the skin before pulling away to switch sides. Damon was quicker; her head bounced lightly against a pillow as he moved to hover over her. His damn speed. Addie scowled, "Stop cheating!"

When she went to push him away, Damon easily caught her wrists by one hand. Pinning her hands just above her head his eyes narrowed in frustration, "Seriously? _You_ want to talk about playing fair?" Carefully he caught her pouting lower lip between his, nibbling until he heard the whimper she tried to strangle. With the sound he felt a tightening around his waist and realized her legs were still wrapped around him. He broke the kiss and shook his head. "You don't get to use that word," he murmured roughly in her ear. He kissed just below it. "I know _exactly_ why you started this little game." A gentle brush of the lips where her neck and shoulder met. "If you get to use your against me," Damon lightly taunted as he trailed small, warm kisses along the skin he'd exposed, "I get to use mine."

The top of her tank rested just over the swell of her breast. There was the briefest hesitation before he decided to allow his lips to graze against the soft skin just above the shirt. Under his lips he could feel her heart quicken at the sensation, her hands desperately twist in attempted to twist away from his hold and sensed her trying to arch closer to him, desperate for more pressure. Taking advantage of the movement, Damon slipped his hand under her back, edging the shirt up to let his fingers dance above the band of her jeans.

Addie inhaled sharply when she felt Damon allow some of his weight to rest against her as his hands were too busy to allow his forearms to support him fully. A quiver of excitement ran through her as she felt his abs brush against the couple of inches of skin bared above her waist; from the firmer kisses he pressed against the top of her left breast, Addie guessed he had felt the same thrill of excitement. Eager to feel more of him she wriggled against him in attempt to drive her shirt further up.

Damon suppressed a groan as he began to work back up her shoulder. Her legs were wrapped high enough around him to prevent any accidental contact but her squirming had made his pants shift and he could feel himself becoming stiffer. He nipped softly at the tender skin at the center of her neck and lustily growled, "_That_ definitely isn't playing fair."

The more she tried to fight the grip at her wrists the tighter Damon held them. She huffed in annoyance, "Stop teasing."

"You did it," he justified in a mumble against her pulse point.

Desperate to take back at least some control; Addie writhed against him again. Damon groaned lowly and quickly moved to still her twisting hips as his jeans grew increasingly uncomfortable, freeing her hands. Instantly they were in his dark hair, trying to pull him closer, trying to get him to do something more than just whispers of lips moving up and down the column of her neck. Instead, he did the opposite.

Sighing heavily, Damon rested his forehead against her. He brushed the tip of her nose with his and whispered, "Addie."

She hummed in response, raking her fingers through his hair. Her lips sought his in response but Addie felt him him shake his head against her forehead and simply call her name again. Something was wrong. Not wanting to be caught staring at him while making out, she slightly opened one eye to peek at his face and attempt to read his emotion. _He_ was staring at her. And caught her.

"I _want _you to look at me," Damon stressed softly, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly very aware of their compromising position, Addie flushed. Feeling self-conscious she went to unwrap herself from him. While Damon didn't stop her from pulling her tank back down, he gently squeezed at her outer thigh, encouraging her to stay in place and reassured, "It's ok; you're fine."

"I feel like a koala clinging to a tree," she muttered, feeling ridiculous. Trusting him though, Addie slid her hand back into to his hair and lightly scratched at his scalp. His eyes, much darker than usual, fluttered shut briefly. Addie found it odd that for someone who was so obsessed with their hair being perfect, Damon really enjoyed her messing it up. Quietly she quipped back, "Now you're not looking at me."

"Have I mentioned how random you are?" he smirked, eyes still closed. "I doubt I even want to know how you came to comparing me to a tree and yourself to a koala."

"Well, I think it's rather obvious," Addie mumbled."And no, I don't think you've told me that _today_."

His smirk turned into a grin as he met her deep blue eyes, "Obvious because you understand 'Addie Logic' but to normal, non-random people, it's hard to follow."

"Oh, hun, we both know you're far from normal," she giggled, patting his cheek patronizingly.

While it was stupid and he wasn't too fond of pet names, Damon felt his heart flutter when she called him that. She always called her friends or family "sweetie" or "honey" when she felt the need to point out the obvious but, not matter what, he was always just "Damon". His name sounded like a blessing when she said it but she had never used a term or nickname indicating a deeper level of connecting. Addie was afraid of his growing feelings for her; Damon didn't see the need to point out hers were too.

"Very true," acknowledged Damon, "but you would get bored with normal. We both would."

Addie pursed her lips in thought before slowly saying, "No, no. I think I could do normal."

"You mean you could date a guy like Matt Donovan?"

"Good point. I need a guy who knows how to defend himself."

"You mean someone who will fight back with you."

Addie carried on as if he hadn't interrupted, "A guy who can, for the most part, hold his end of the conversation."

"You mean someone who can follow your logic and random topic jumping. That would have to be a mythical creature; something definitely not normal."

"And, even though I can do it myself, a guy willing to help me win war."

"You mean someone who would go against their own instincts and be stupid enough to follow you into a trap," he resigned. He let his hand cup her cheek and searched her eyes. Yes, that was what she really wanted. Damon knew he promised no more lies but he just couldn't deny her this. He would have to find a way to either save Elena himself or be there to picked Addie up when she crumbled under Elena's death. Damon grimaced, "I'm sorry. I'll apologize to Elijah but not because I'm sorry but because I promised you I'd save your sister and he presents the only option. But, Addie, I'm not going to mean it and I'm not trusting him. You're trusting him. I'm just saying some words to help you."

"That's all I ask," she whispered, matching the way he ran his thumb over her cheek on his own.

Addie's eyes shimmered, and before he could wonder from whether it was tears or the way the light hit the them, Damon kissed her. This time it wasn't frenzied, rough or angry. This time she brought his face closer to his and let him take control. Damon wanted to say those three words so badly but he knew he couldn't; not yet; so he tried to pour every emotion he'd put into the words into the kiss. The intensity returned when he tried to non-verbally tell her how passionate he felt. He was back at her neck, his love-bite full of lust. . She was moaning and moving in his arms, arms filled with the heat and softness that was Addie. Under the tea, he could still taste her cinnamon toothpaste; that was Addie. He didn't even know that had existed before her. She even had her own signature scent that was Addie; cucumber melon, blackberries and vanilla and… blood, sweet, delicious blood. Blood that didn't smell nauseatingly sweet anymore. Blood he could feel moving through her as his teeth….

Cursing, Damon buried his face in the pillow. He didn't need to double check if he had really felt his fangs extend. Had bloodlust mixed with real lust or had it been bloodlust that had him nipping at her pulse point the whole time? It was _a_ weakness for her but to really get to her, he had to move a up just a fraction of an inch; _that_ triggered her lust. Her heartbeat sounded louder than ever; he could smell the blood pumping through her wrist as she stroked his hair. Before she had smelled so sickeningly sweet that he had learned to block it out. Now her blood was like a siren, smelling as sweet as a vampire's, as his own. Why was it taking so long to control the lust? He had forgotten to drink because of the Elijah fiasco but that didn't explain the extreme thirst that unquestionably demanded to be sated by her blood. The only thing that could tear him away from the thought of her blood was her curious voice.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Damon snapped. The bloodlust was making him frustrated. He needed to get it under control. He had learn to manage the hunger ages ago. Why couldn't he shake it off now? Why did she have to have the most appetizing blood he had ever come across?

Addie continued to play with his hair, hoping to help while easing her own anxiety. "The bloodlust," she whispered. "Why is it affecting you so bad? You've never - ok, when we first started kissing it bothered you for fifteen seconds but it's never happened since then. You've been battling it for nearly four minutes."

It felt a lot longer. "That's not-"

"I felt your fangs start to descend, Damon. Don't lie to me, please," she pleaded. "I'm not upset or even scared. I just want to know why now?"

"Alcohol plus forgetting to eat because my girlfriend woke up the guy who wants to kill me plus arguing plus kissing make for a difficult combination to battle," he muttered. It wasn't a lie.

Addie rolled her eyes; extracting the truth from him could be like pulling teeth. You needed to say exactly the right thing. "I guessed that. There's more; you would have just gone and got a blood bag if that was the issue. Something's keeping you here. What's wrong, Damon? You can tell me."

"You really _don't_ want to know," Damon bitterly laughed.

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

"I want to know."

"You want to know that suddenly all I can think about is drinking you?" he bit back.

Addie frowned, "Wh- I get why you would want to because of the hunger but why would you want to when you know you can't?"

"Because I already told you; I'm pretty sure I can feed off you now," he reminded in a mocking voice. "And I'm still here because _you're_ keeping me here. The whole living person versus blood from a freezer aside, your blood is… God, it's like a really tempting bag of illegal weed to a stoner."

"You're talking like me."

Damon groaned, "I want to eat you and you're analyzing my simile? You should be _scared_, Addie."

She continued to play with his hair in a distracted manner as she thought, "You drank my blood before. What happened?"

"_I don't know_! Some kind of allergic reaction; my throat started to swell shut," he sneered into the pillow wondering why the hell any of that was relevant.

"If you truly believe you can safely drink my blood, then do it," Addie offered.

"You've lost your mind," Damon decided. He could feel her heart slamming against his chest as he let himself rest against Addie.

Addie turned her head to encouraginly whisper, "I want you to."

He was getting some control; his face had returned to normal but his fangs were still descended. Damon closed his eyes, pressed his forehead to hers again, and tried even harder to calm himself. His fangs pushing into his lower lip, hard and painful. "No."

"I want you to. This isn't the first time I've offered; remember our first date and you got ill? I'm ok with it." Her breasts flattened against his chest as she arched up against him, baring her throat. The scent of her blood was everywhere, all over him, filling the room.

"Aren't you scared?" he whispered, annoyed that she wasn't more concerned about her safety.

"Yes. But I still want you to."

"Ads, love - I can't - I-" He bit her. His teeth slid, razor-sharp, into the vein at her throat like a knife slicing into the skin of an apple. Addie gasped, her eyes flying open and her body arcing up against , sweet, blood exploded into his mouth. It was like nothing he had experienced before; the closest comparison he could come up with was what he imagined it would be like if he took the perfect size hit of every wonderful drug he tried in the 80s followed by a shot of bourbon. Through the high of her blood, Damon vaugely became aware that he was still releasing venom; he had used it not to hurt her but too much in a human would kill them. She was _enjoying_ it; stroking his hair, his back, holding him tight. Addie had already had way more than enough. Still, heat poured out of her, into him, lighting his body; he had never felt, imagined, anything else like it. He could feel the strong, sure beat of her heart, pounding through her veins into his, and for that moment it was as if he lived again, and his heart contracted with pure elation.

He broke away. Damon wasn't sure how, but he broke away and rolled onto his back, his fingers gripping the sheets hard. He was still shuddering as his fangs retracted. The room shimmered all around him, the way things did in the few moments after he drank human, living blood.

"Ads… ," he whispered. He was afraid to look at her, afraid that now that his teeth were no longer in her throat, Addie would stare at him with revulsion or horror.

She hummed in response, interlacing her fingers with his.

"You didn't stop me," he stated bluntly, filled with mixed feelings of frustration and hope.

"I didn't want to."

He looked at her. She was on her back, her chest rising and falling fast, as if she'd been running. There were two neat puncture wounds in the side of her throat, and two thin lines of blood that ran down her neck to her collarbone. Acting on instinct Damon leaned forward and licked the blood from her throat. A chill ran through her as her fingers settled back in his hair.

"Damon..." He drew back. Addie was looking at him with her big deep blue eyes, surprisingly serious, her cheeks flushed. "I…"

"What?" he pressed after several seconds of silence. For a wild moment he thought she was going to say 'I love you,' but instead she shook her head, yawned, and hooked her finger through one of the belt loops on his jeans. Her fingers played with the bare skin at his waist.

Her yawn triggered him back to reality. Exhaustion was a problem when they were getting her to resist compulsion. "Are you okay? Did I drink too much? Do you feel tired? Are—" God, he was stupid. Damon bit his wrist until blood bubbled to the surface. He wanted to spit out the little that had gotten into his mouth. To Damon, his own blood had always tasted like water, like nothing but now it tasted like it was taken from the Hudson river. Was that what Addie tasted? It didn't matter. He shoved his wrist up to her mouth and she gave him a look that clearly asked if he was serious. "_Drink_."

"I am fine," she insisted through another yawn, trying to push his hand away.

"Drink!" he ordered repeatedly. "I don't care if you think you're fine. You suffered some major blood loss."

"I've suffered worse."

His jaw clenched in frustration and he had a difficult time keeping his voice level. "Yes and each time you did, you drank! Drink." She continued to stare at him boredly. "Ugh. Fine. Don't come asking me to heal you when people start asking why you have two puncture marks on your neck."

Addie glared at him but took his bleeding wrist, first quipping, "I'll tell them I was role playing _Twilight._"

"Seriously?" he asked with a disgusted face.

"I don't even know what happened past the first book," she snorted, dropping his healed, blood free wrist. "Hope you're happy because now I'm cold."

Damon laughed, climbing off the bed and heading to his closet, "I am happy to report that I _did_ drink my girlfriend's blood and I _did not_ kill her."

She laughed harder, "I read enough to know that you sound like Edward Cullen when he did the same thing."

"You know what?" he asked, coming back with the same cashmere scarf he had given her the first time she drank his blood. "We're sticking to _Dracula _ role playing if anyone ask."

"So am I Lucy and you're going to feed on me every night as I waste away and then turn me into a vampire and I get beheaded or am I Mina and you feed on me three times, I drink your blood, start having a creepy psychic connection to you, and am like a half vampire until me and my group of suitors and doctors kill you, freeing me of your curse?"

Damon contemplated aloud as he carefully wrapped the scarf around her, "Well, you've had my blood and I've had yours which makes you qualified to be both. I think we can rule out Lucy though since I'm not gonna turn you and really, you'd probably use your vampire powers for good rather than eating children. As for Mina, well, we apparently are starting to sound alike so that could be a connection thing, you don't need vervain to resist compulsion which is a vampire trait so that makes you something, and our story does end with you running off with a suitor and having kids. My guess is the Mina plotline will be more believable if someone ask but this time, the vampire gets to live."

Addie's brows knitted together in thought as she distractedly thanked Damon for the scarf. The story was eerily parallel. _Dracula _had been one of the most bogus books she had to read for school and now she was semi living it. Still cold, Addie laid down and wrapped up in the blankets and yawned again. "Did you sleep last night?" she asked Damon curiously. watching him put his shirt back on.

"Uh, no. I don't really sleep well without you anymore. Fighting with you doesn't make sleep come any easier," he muttered sheepishly as he had trouble doing up the buttons.

"Same," she replied, quickly tacking on, "about the sleep I mean. I didn't get any." She yawned again.

Concerned that he may not have given her enough blood, Damon walked over to her and felt her forehead with the back of his hand. "Do you feel ok?"

Addie swatted at his hand and rolled over. "I'm tired not sick, you twit. Can, um, do you mind if I take a nap in here?" she asked hesitantly.

"Ads, you never have to ask that. You have a 'come and go, use as you want' access pass to here. You know that." Damon shook his head, glad she couldn't see; he'd come to think of this room as _theirs_ rather than _his_. It felt wrong without her in it after she spent almost every night for a month with him. "Although, as the other occupant with such access to this room, I must warn you that we may encounter each other from time to time."

"Like now?"

A grin broke out on his face when he heard the slight undertone of hope. They were still upset with each other but it was going to be ok. "Yeah. See, I made a deal with my girlfriend not to go to bed angry so I haven't slept all night and I need to use the room to finally nap since I'm not mad now."

"How funny," Addie grinned to herself, unrolling from the blankets so she could share with Damon. She felt the bed dip and shift as he got in. He settled himself behind her, an arm casually slung around her waist.

"This ok?" checked Damon. He wasn't sure what the limits of the temporary 'cease fire' truce were. Addie tucked her hand under his and nodded. After several minutes, it became apparent that he wasn't going to sleep until he knew. "Did you…" He could barely bring himself to ask. "Did you like it?" He had probably released so much venom to keep from hurting her that she was probably feeling as buzzed as he was.

"Yeah," Addie answered shyly. "I liked it."

"Really?"he said in mild surprise. Addie and blood dix typically mix.

"You couldn't tell?"

For the first time Damon felt bashful as he answered, "I thought maybe you were faking it or just pretending to for me."

"I don't fake things, Damon," she said firmly. "And I don't lie, and I don't pretend."

No way a guy like him got a girl like her. Not for long, at least. "You're a heartbreaker, Addison Gilbert," he said, as lightly as he could with her blood still running through him like fire, knowing that whether it be when they woke up or in fifteen years, losing her was truly going to break his heart.

* * *

**A/N: The end is near! Fingers crossed I will have this done by Jan 17 (One whole year, one whole story) but no promises. A sequel is in the works. Would you guys like it to stay in third person or see a shift to first person? Comments are always welcomed. **


	36. Chapter 39

"Tonight is the full moon. We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse."

Damon squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think. If only he could listen in and tune out that voice! Alaric was a damn teacher but he didn't lecture nearly as much as that damn Original. They were all stupidly listening along, hanging on to his every word. If Elijah told them jumping off a cliff would kill Klaus and save Elena, they'd all be shoving to get to the ledge first. Then, because they were idiots, they would all accidentally push each other off the cliff, everyone would die except Klaus since everyone _fell_ off and couldn't let one stupid little sacrificial lamb _jump_ off the cliff and get it over with. It was all going to be ok, though, because the vampire they let rot in their basement for a month was going to supply a 500 year old potion that would bring the stupid little lamb back to life. They were all moronic sheep blindly following a charismatic shepard to their doom. Elena was going to stay dead and Damon would be the one fixing the crashed remains of his girlfriend and brother because they refused to see reason and so desperately clung to that stupid thing called hope. They were all stupid.

The sound of his bedroom door opening broke his focus on the conversation below and his musings on their idiocy. Not turning his head, his bright eyes slid to see who was coming in, not that he needed to even look to know it was Addie. He'd admit to a flaw in his thinking; Addie wasn't stupid. Addie was just blinded by fear. Afraid of his feelings for her, afraid of her feelings for him. So scared of the very real fact that her sister was going to die that night that she had completely lost sight of reason and was temporarily unfit to function at her normal level of intellect and independence. The only explanation for her being ok with this plan was temporary insanity.

Elijah had been over first thing in the morning; it was nauseating how excited Addie was to greet him. Addie excited about anything before nine was further proof to his case for temporary insanity. Damon had learned very quickly that she was not a morning person. But she had been that morning; he hadn't been feeling the same energy when she woke him at eight, insisting that he sit in and be well informed on the plan when Elijah arrived. Her begging and pleading and pouting hadn't worked that time. They could sip the cult Kool-Aid but he was passing. He'd been toying around with an idea that would guarantee Elena's safety for a couple of days but hadn't said anything. Damon doubted Addie saw turning Elena into a vampire was a solution. Stefan perhaps would but he'd get all prissy about how it should be Elena's choice. Fact was, Elena didn't have a choice. Damon was going to figure out a way to save her in less than twelve hours. He's do whatever he had to do to make sure that Elena was safe after all this. He had promised Addie; he wouldn't break that one, unlike so many others.

"Go away," he grumbled, not wanting to face Addie until he had a plan.

Holding the blood bag away from her by two fingers pinching at the corner like a used Kleenex, Addie dropped the bag onto the nightstand. Quickly, she turned away from it to sit next to Damon as he laid spread eagle on top of the covers."You know," her finger began to trace down the center of his bare chest, "you've been telling me that a lot the past two days." She flicked at his belt buckle before retracing her path. Trying to get any kind of emotional rise out of him, Addie raised her eyebrows and looked down at him. "Is that code for 'I wanna break up' and I just don't understand it?"

Damon grabbed her hand from his chest and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. before gently squeezing and absent-mindedly shaking his head, "Of course not, love. I'm just thinking."

Addie grinned sweetly and patted him on the head like she was praising a child, "Of course you are." She pulled away as her voice filled with sarcasm, "You totally aren't brooding and pouting because this plan isn't the way you want."

"I'm not, though that would be a perfectly valid reason to brood and pout," he objected, briefly glancing from his ceiling towards her.

"Now, Damon, I think we're all big kids here. Laying in bed, refusing to leave your room because you're not getting your way is brooding and pouting," she chastised, crossing her arms in mock disapproval. "It's time we put on our big boy boxers and play nice."

"I'm not a big kid. I'm a spoiled little child who wants his way that's been trapped in the body of a 23 year old for far too long," he insisted with a quick sticking of his tongue followed by a pouty, full bottom lip.

Addie interlaced her fingers in Damon's hands and leaned in, a soft tug of his lip leading to a full kiss. She broke away laughing and shook her head helplessly. "You're lucky you're cute."

Damon scoffed, "Cute comes in a tiny package with ribbons and the word adorable stamped all over it; that's you. I'm the eternal stud, not _cute_."

"I forgot to add that it's unlucky for me as to how arrogant you are."

"You like it."

"Mmm… no."

He nodded and pressed on, "You think it's hot."

"The saying is '_confidence_ is sexy', not arrogance," she pointed out superiorly, feeling he couldn't argue with that.

"Got that too," he lied with a wink. He had no idea how he was going to save her sister. "You have a hot, sexy, eternal stud for a boyfriend."

She smirked back at him and shrugged slightly, "Meh. That's all true but he's kinda a dick."

Damon let go of her hands to hold his up helplessly, "What can I say? Perfect s pretty damn hard to find."

"True. My guy's pretty close; that's why he's going to play along with today's events without any kicking, staking, daggering, or biting," Addie grinned hopefully.

"So I can still hit?"

"Sure. Feel free to punch the wall for all I care; it might be fun watching you fix it. You are under a strict 'no touching' policy for people though." He raised a challenging eyebrow. Quickly she stepped away from the bed and started, "Do-"

From behind her Damon's arms slipped around her waist and he whispered teasingly into her ear, "Too late." He burst into hysterics when she cried out in surprise.

"Damon!" whined Addie, trying to break free of his hold. "That's-"

"Not fair, I know. But, Addie," he mimicked, "you practically forbid me from doing it. You should know by now that is basically a dare."

His grip loosened enough so she could turn to face him, a mischievous glint in his eye and smile on his face. She quickly pecked his cheek before completely pulling away. "Now that you're not Scourge, eat," she instructed, pointing to the blood bag, "put on a shirt and your most supportive boyfriend smile."

Damon scrunched his face up in distaste, "You realize that for the most part you only use that term when you try to manipulate me?"

"Oh, that's intentional," Addie smirked. "You like to hear me call you my boyfriend. It would be stupid of me not to remind you of something you like when I'm trying to get my way."

"My, my. How very… devious of you."

Addie smiled in false modesty. "Well, I do have an excellent teacher."

"Don't forget that," he grinned, tapping her on the nose. "The most excellent of teachers never teaches the student more than he knows. You can't manipulate me, _Addison_."

"You act like saying my name makes me believe you," she snorted.

Cockily he noted, "Made your heart speed up, though."

"You don't-"

Damon cut her off with the shake of his head, "You forget the sensitive hearing, love."

Addie broke away from him and backed towards the door scowling, "Damn vampire tricks. Eat, clothes, and I expect a supportive boyfriend downstair shortly."

"Wait, wait, wait," he insisted, catching her wrist and pulling her to sit with him on the bed. "We need to talk. We haven't talked about tonight."

"Elijah is explaining everything to Elena and Stefan right now if you want to talk," she insisted, trying to avoid having to discuss that night.

"I can hear them. You already told me everything Elijah is telling them. Klaus kills vampire and werewolf then downs your sister's blood like a fine red wine. She will be dead. Then some mystical potion brings her back to life. Meanwhile, Bonnie kills Klaus as he wolfs out. Did I miss anything?"

Resting her elbows on her knees, Addie covered her face and mumbled, "You got it."

Easing the sharpness of his tone, Damon continued, "I can't let this happen with-"

Knowing where he was going, she quickly cut him off, "I _do_ realize how stupid it sounds."

"It doesn't just sound stupid; it is stupid. Addie, I'm not questioning your trust in Elijah; you say you don't get a bad or dark or deceptive or whatever feeling from him and I'm going along with that. However, Elena is going to be _dead_. Dead _dead_. She won't be under some spell like Bonnie was and wake up after an hour or so. You are trusting a magical witch potion with no expiration date to bring her back to life. Ads, have you ever considered what happens if the potion doesn't work?"

"Yes, Damon. There is no other option for taking out Klaus, though. I'm aware that if the potion doesn't work my sister stays dead," she snapped back, her voice cracking on the last word. "But that potion is my only hope of saving my sister, unless you have any better ideas." Addie shifted to face him and reached for his hands as she looked pleadingly into his bright blue eyes. "I try not to ask or expect much of you but this time I need you, Damon. I need you to be supportive and believe that this will work because it is my only hope. Can't you just do that for me?"

He wanted to be that guy she wanted, the supportive boyfriend, but it wouldn't be in her best interest. Addie wouldn't understand but Damon knew that encouraging this idea would only make facing Elena's death even harder when she had to face it. It wasn't that he didn't want to believe in the potion, he'd just seen too much bad to believe it could work. If people could be magically revived, the world would be full of a lot less death and carnage. If it was true that the witches would not allow something to be truly immortal, creating a magic potion to reverse death seemed to nullify that point. There was no way he was going to point that out to Addie, though. Despite the previous afternoon and her friendly mood, there was still a sense of tension between them. They hadn't actually made-up, just made-out.

"If you want to guarantee her coming back to life, what about John's ring?" Damon suggested, side stepping her question.

Addie rolled her eyes, "It's a useless chunk of metal; it only works on humans according to the journal. According to Elijah, a doppelganger is a supernatural occurrence, making Elena supernatural. I beg to differ with that as, despite the almost nonexistent chance for two people to share the exact same DNA, there is still a small scientific possibility. However, Elijah has everyone convinced that it won't work."

"That is an unfortunate _oversight_ made by Emily when she made the rings," Damon muttered sourly. "Those Bennet witches just make everything complicated. We _can_ kill Klaus to-"

"Bonnie isn't dying to save Elena!" Addie loudly interjected.

"I'll write her a great eulogy!"

"Yeah, ok, because the one you wrote your mother was so great," Addie lashed out. When she realized what she had said, her hand flew over her mouth.

Damon gave a low whistle and scoffed, "I'd expect something like that from me but _you_? Well, at least I won't have to worry about you _not_ showing up for my funeral. Do you plan on attending Elena's or do you intend to go dance on her grave after everyone has left?"

Addie flared, glad she held back the apology that she instantly felt the need to say, "The only foreseeable future funeral is yours if you screw with this plan, Damon. And don't worry, I can assure you I won't be there; they tend to not allow murders to attend their victim's funeral."

"Wow. Now I'm really terrified of a five foot teenage girl and what she'll do to me if I mess up her stupid plan."

"I've gotten the one-up on you twice, remember? Not to mention I've almost literally burned you alive. I wouldn't underestimate me," she fumed back at his sarcasm.

"That's right," gasped Damon. "I forgot that you _almost_ killed me. But why didn't you? Because you had inklings of feelings for me. You can deny and hide from the fact that you've come to actually have strong feelings towards me. Those emotions keep you from being able to kill me. Your problem is that you care too damn much about the wrong people."

Addie ran her hands over her face and through her hair as she counted backwards. She needed to calm down; they were both saying things they didn't mean, things they would regret. Being the bigger person wasn't in Damon's nature so she had to do it. By the time Addie reached zero her anger was still ramped but she had at least deflected it from Damon and towards the rightful person. "Bonnie isn't dying because I care about her more than I care about my sister. Bonnie isn't dying because _nobody_ else is dying for Elena. My mom and dad already died because she just _had_ to be picked up from a stupid party that she shouldn't have even gone to."

"Yes, you hate Elena and blame her for everything wrong in your life but it's either your sister dead or Bonnie dead! I saw how crushed you were when you thought Bonnie was; how do you think you're going to be when it is your actual _sister_?" he pointed out, trying to reason with her.

Addie shook her head insistently, "Elena isn't going to stay dead; the potion is going to bring her back."

"You can't guarantee that! Personally, I don't give a damn whether it's Bonnie or Elena who dies. What I care about is what happens when Elena stays dead!" exclaimed Damon. Sighing heavily the corners of his lips tugged downwards, "I don't know what will happen to _you_. All I am truly concerned about is how you will be after all of this goes down."

At this she hesitated in thought rather than instantly lashing back. As much as she didn't like her big sister, Addie still loved Elena and would take her place if that was an option. She wasn't exactly sure how she would react to Elena being dead. Though, if she survived the death of her parents then she could surely make it through the death of her sister. But she hadn't made it through her parents' death, not really. She had been close to completely losing it when she came upon Damon that night in the rain. Misery had consumed her so much that she told him to kill her. Survival instinct and his compulsion for her to regain control of her life were probably the only reason she had survived the loss of her parents. It wasn't exactly like she could just have Damon compel her to get over Elena anymore. Addie grimaced uncertainly, "We'll cross that bridge _if_ we come to it. But Elena is going to be fine."

Damon got up and walked over to his dresser so she couldn't see his scowl. Addie was so deep in denial that she wasn't thinking. Elena wasn't going to be fine; the potion wasn't going to work. And she wanted him to be supportive of this plan to kill her sister. He needed a drink.

"When I said 'drink' I meant the blood bag, not bourbon," Addie reproached when he sat back next to her with a tumbler of amber liquid.

"No, no. This is scotch, not bourbon. It happens to be a lot stronger," he corrected with a smirk. "I'm surrounded by idiots and denial. I need the breakfast of champions, not blood."

With her eyes narrowed in a glare Addie crossly criticized, "You're not exactly helping things."

Damon tossed back the contents of the glass, relishing in the familiar burn as the alcohol slid down his throat, and set it next to the blood bag on his nightstand. He was far past frustrated and losing any sense of delicacy he had intended. Reminding him that he wasn't being helpful because he had no real solution to save her sister even though he had promised to find one created an awful nagging in his stomach. The only thing he could do was try to convince Addie not to go through with the plan. "Elijah is an Original vampire, Addie. One we tried to kill. You're going to believe him?"

"_You_ tried to kill him," she corrected.

"And then Stefan and Elena did too!" he reminded. "You honestly believe that he is going to save someone who tried to kill him?"

"Yes! Just because you wouldn't doesn't mean that everyone else is bitter and vengeful; not everyone is a bad guy," she snipped without thinking.

Damon cocked an eyebrow and sneered, "At least you're no longer in denial about the fact that I'm a bad guy. Now, if we can talk Klaus into postponing the ritual for about a year you might give up this delusion, too, and accept that this potion plan isn't going to work."

Defensively Addie cut back, "I _never_ said you were a bad guy."

"You basically did. It's all a matter of semantics."

"Yes, exactly!" exclaimed Addie, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Pay attention to the fucking semantics. Don't twist my words to suit your own agenda."

"Damn it, Addison. Listen to yourself! You're going to trust Eli-"

"I chose to trust you, too. And you tried to kill me, if you don't remember. Elijah's been upfront and honest about everything, including the fact that Elena has to go through with the sacrifice, from the very beginning. He has admitted that the potion might not work! He has given me no reason not to trust him! That's a hell of a lot more than I can say for you!"

Damon laughed bitterly, "That just goes to show that you shouldn't be making judgements on who to trust. If _you_ don't remember, we both agreed that you'd be an idiot to trust me."

"You know what? Whether I trust Elijah or not doesn't make a difference, _Elena_ is the one being sacrificed; it's her call on who to trust," stated Addie, leaving the room before either of them could toss around more damaging, hurtful words.

"Get out!" came a cry from Jenna. Curious, Addie turned from going to the room she used towards the stairs, curious about who or what could have her aunt in such a panic.

"Jenna! Jenna!" a frantic voice repeated; it sounded like Alaric. Or was it Klaus in Alaric? Concern grew with each step Addie took towards the stairs.

"Get out!"

Damon caught up with Addie as she rushed down the stairs, "What's going on?"

"Jenna, put the crossbow down, ok? It's me," insisted Alaric's voice.

"You're a dick. Besides that? It sounds like either Klaus or Alaric is here but the truth is probably too obvious for you to see," quipped Addie, taking the stairs two at a time. In the entryway, Damon and Addie came across Jenna posed with a strung crossbow aimed at the torso of Alaric's body.

Though the bow quivered Jenna's voice was strong and unwavering, "Stay away from me."

From the direction of the study Elijah, Stefan and Elena appeared with the last asking, "What's going on?"

Alaric held up his hands to show that he wasn't on the offensive and insisted, "It's me, Elena, I swear, ok? He let me go. Klaus let me go."

Addie crossed her arms, not particularly convinced or satisfied with his answer. Neither was Damon, demanding, "Prove it."

The man's brow furrowed as he quickly looked around the group before landing on Jenna. "Ok, uh, first night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to-"

"Ok!" Jenna cut in loudly, her cheeks coloring. "It's him."

Poor Jeremy; Addie thought _she'd_ been scarred seeing Alaric in his boxers eating Chunky Monkey. Still… "How do we know it's really Alaric and Klaus didn't just absorb his memories when he possessed him?" The incredulous looks Addie received told her none of the others shared her concern. "What? I'm standing in a house full of vampires about to entrust my sister's life to a magical potion and you," she pointed accusingly at Alaric, "were just possessed by one of the first vampires ever created. Why, considering all of that, does memory absorption sound so insane?"

"It's supernatural, not science fiction," retorted Damon.

Addie reared towards him and barked, "Yeah and _you_ didn't believe in werewolves because you hadn't come across one but said you'd be an even bigger idiot than you already are if you didn't believe an ancient picture book that said a bite from them would kill you. _You_ didn't believe in Klaus and yet Bonnie had a showdown with him. The point is _you_ don't know everything."

"There are many supernatural elements that exist beyond what we may believe to be real," Elijah calmly mediated. "However, Klaus has never been able to gain access to a person's memories upon possession in the past."

"Fine," conceded Addie, though still suspicious. "He doesn't seem like the type to show mercy, though. Why let you go? He obviously wanted a new body but eating you seems like a far more effective way of dealing with a vampire hunter. Just because you can't kill him doesn't mean you can't be a pain in the ass."

"He wanted me to deliver a message. The sacrifice happens tonight." Alaric answered ominously.

"_Really_?" she wondered in mock awe. "Because him showing up in town right before the full moon wasn't a clear and obvious warning?"

Alaric shrugged meekly, taken aback by her attitude. "He didn't have the moonstone until this morning."

"_That's_ why you don't give ritual ingredients to the bad guy," Damon rounded on Addie. "If you hadn't trust Elijah and given him the damn rock he wouldn't have been able to give it to Klaus and we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Elijah isn't our enemy!" she enunciated slowly with great enthusiasm. "I _knew_ he would give the rock to Klaus. You don't think I figured all that out before making a deal? We need Klaus to have the moonstone because we need him to do the ritual so we can finally kill him. _We_ wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't been so obsessed with freeing Katherine, which outed her being alive, leading to her wanting to bargain her way out of Klaus' wrath by supplying everything he freaking needed on a silver platter," ranted Addie before storming up the stairs. Halfway up she called back down, "Nor would we be in this mess if either _A)_ Elena died in the fucking accident instead of our parents or _B)_ she was never born in the first place! No doppelganger, no problem!"

Jenna quickly turned to Elena with wide, apologetic eyes as she tried to excuse Addie. "Elena, you know your sister. You know how she gets when she's stressed. She doesn't mean any of that!"

"I do know her," agreed Elena, moving back towards the study with her aunt, Stefan and Elijah following. "Because I know her, I know that is exactly what she believes and wishes."

"Is it just me or are you and Addie a little more…," Alaric shook his head, giving up on trying to find the right word, "than usual?" he asked Damon quietly.

The vampire cocked an eyebrow and lightly jested, "Were we that obvious?"

Alaric frowned as he followed Damon into the living, "What's going on?"

Damon pursed his lips as he thought, "Uh, it started with me not telling her Bonnie wasn't actually dead when you killed her and th-"

"What? When did I kill Bonnie? I would never do that!"

"Right, Klaus-you did at the decade dance. Or thinks he did," he winked, grabbing the only Gilbert journal he hadn't finished off the coffee table. "Anyways, there was that and then I'm not sure how serious she was about me being protective of her versus how much of it was her trying to piss me off so she could get me out of the way and go behind my back to undagger Elijah. I'm kind of upset about those things. Oh, and her fear of emotions is starting to bother me. On the other hand my emotions are bothering her. Then there's this huge wall of denial she's built regarding the fact that some magical potion is not going to reanimate her dead sister and I'm trying to get her to see how stupid the plan is but it's not going so well. We're both just a bit angry with each other." Damon paused mid-step, remembering what happened when he faced her upset the previous day. He still hadn't touched the blood bag Addie had brought him that morning. "I should eat," he decided, continuing towards the stairs.

Before grabbing Damon's wrist, Alaric quickly looked around to see if anybody was listening in. There were two other vampires in the house; even if he didn't see anyone that didn't mean anything. "Wait," he urgently commanded. Looking around the room he found paper on the coffee table and a pen on the table end. Alaric quickly scribbled out a note and shoved the paper into the vampire's hand.

_Klaus gave me a message for you and only you to know. He says, "Addie's next."_

Damon flipped the paper over, looking for more writing, despite having seen Alaric compose the note. That couldn't just be it; that wasn't even a message. He waved the paper in front of the other man's face and demanded, "What the hell does this mean?"

"No idea. That's everything."

Damon shook his head; he still didn't get it. "Why just me? He –" Damon cut himself off. If Klaus meant for no one else to know, he'd have to be careful with what he said. It already sounded like a threat to Addie; he was anxious about what might happen if others found out. "The target and objective is very clear this time," he coded, looking knowingly at Alaric. He nodded that he understood. Damon held up the note again, "Why a secret? What's 'next'? Anything else?"

"Actually," Alaric sighed, pulling out an envelope from his back pocket and passing it to Damon, "Klaus checked the mail at the house and found that. He said you would probably want to personally deliver it."

Damon raised a suspicious eyebrow, "He checked the mail?"

"At first I found it suspicious too but Jeremy sorts out what is Elena and Addie's and sets it on the counter. It would have been just lying out and easy to spot. The postage is stamped for two weeks ago. Unless Klaus planned it way in advance, he had nothing to do with what is in that envelope. He didn't even know Addie then," explained Alaric.

The return postage was addressed to:

_London College of Music_

_Ealing Studios_

_Ealing Green_

_Ealing, W5 5EP_

_United Kingdom_

"I almost forgot Addie applied here," Damon muttered to himself as he judged the weight and thickness of the envelope. Bad news required one sheet of paper; good news tended to be heavier.

"I've read her homework and graded her tests. I know she's really bright but don't schools prefer you apply when you're a senior?"

"Not for college. They have a summer program for students who make music. Addie applied for a scholarship ages ago," he explained. Carefully he inspected the envelope for anything other than a return address and Addie's name and address.

Alaric licked his lips uncomfortably as he watched a shadow cross his best friend's face. "You _are_ going to give that to her," he stated as opposed to asking.

"Of course, sounds like a great idea. Let's ship my girlfriend off to London for the summer all by herself after this," Damon hissed sarcastically, holding up the message from Klaus. "Let's also ignore the fact that he is eager for her to get this envelope."

"Damon, if you don't give her that, I will tell Addie," threatened Alaric.

The vampire studied the man critically and darkly asked, "Because you don't care about her welfare or because you're compelled to?"

Alaric scoffed, "Are you serious? A scholarship to study abroad? To do something she loves? I'll tell her because I _do_ care about her welfare. This could be a life changing opportunity for her."

"And we just ignore the fact that Klaus is – you know, it doesn't matter. After tonight Klaus will be dead and whatever part he is playing won't matter either. We'll just have to contend with all the other unspoken dangers and horrors she could face," he said dismissively.

"There aren't vampires and witches and werewolves waiting to attack around every corner, Damon. As for human threats, they aren't doing that either. You can't watch her like a goldfish trapped in a bowl. If she has the chance to do something amazing, you don't take that away from someone you care about," insisted Alaric. "Besides, you don't even know if she got the scholarship; it could be a rejection letter. He's using mind games to screw with you. You already said she's mad at you; what will she be when I tell her a letter from London College of Music came but you didn't give it to her?"

Damon nodded slowly. Alaric didn't need to know that everything he had just said meant nothing to him. Heading back up the stairs he lied, "You're right. I'll go give it to her now." Briefly he considered going to Addie and just handing her the envelope but instead turned into his room.

* * *

The sound of a loud, brassy saxophone filled Addie's ears as she tried to get lost in the playlist of calming jazz music she had created on her iPod. Lying on the bed in the she occasionally used, she stared up at the ceiling. Though she was still, Addie couldn't get her mind to stop racing; thoughts of Damon, Elena, Bonnie, Klaus and the approaching ritual all sped through her mind in a chaotic, unorganized manner. If she were to say every thought that passed in the order that they came, Damon would have an extremely valid point when he accused her of being random and topic jumping without a semblance of sense.

Damon, he was what her mind kept turning to most. Perhaps if she tried just focusing on him the ideas of everything else would subside. However, thinking of Damon made her feel more frustrated and agitated, not calmer. While neither she nor he were very optimistic, Addie couldn't understand why he wouldn't stop being so negative and such a jerk about the plan with Elijah. He'd admitted to daggering the Original in part because of envy that Elijah had a solution to saving Elena as opposed to him when he had promised to save Elena. It was possible that was the reason he was so adamant about the potion not working but that would be fairly petty of him and she didn't really believe Damon would be like that.

Her headphones blasted the mellow bass and muted trumpet so loudly that she didn't hear the knocking at the door. When she saw the door crack open and Alaric stick his head in Addie was so startled that she bolted into a seating position. His lips moved but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Addie pulled out the ear buds and unplugged them from the iPod when jazz continued to blare out of them.

"Can I come in?" Alaric repeated when he saw that Addie had stopped the music.

Her eyes narrowed as she cautiously asked, "Depends. Are you Alaric or are you Klaus?"

He laughed and entered the room, "I'm me. Klaus is definitely back in his own body."

Addie nodded, accepting this. While she didn't really know Klaus, he appeared to have too much fun toying with her and would probably have admitted he was himself in Alaric's body. Plus, she no longer had a sense of darkness and burning desire to run away in Alaric's presence like she had when Klaus had possessed him. She motioned for him to have a seat in the desk chair before flopping back onto the bed. Alaric wasn't clouding her mind; she didn't have any need to talk to him. Uninterested she questioned, "What can I do for you?"

"Have you been listening to your music that loud since you came up here?" Alaric asked with a frown. He had gone to check on her when she hadn't appeared at the sounds of Elena's cries or Stefan and Damon's fighting. It didn't seem like the curious Addie he knew.

"Yep," she answered, popping the "puh" sound.

He closed his eyes in annoyance as he gathered, "You didn't talk to Damon." He hadn't gone to give her the envelope.

"Nope," Addie replied, again emphasizing the sound the "p" made. "We tend to do more fighting than talking these days."

"Yeah, I noticed you guys were even shorter than usual with each other. He told me what happened with Bonnie. I'm so sorry," Alaric profusely apologized.

Turning her head towards Alaric, Addie's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. It's not like _you_ actually tried to kill her. Your body was hijacked by a conniving Original. You, I'm not mad at. I'm upset with Damon and Bonnie for being deceptive."

"Did you hear the commotion earlier?" Alaric asked hesitantly. Someone had to tell her what Damon had done.

She grinned slightly as she recalled, "You mean my aunt aiming a crossbow at you?"

"No, after that. The fighting from Damon's room."

Addie sat up slowly as she thought of all the reasons Damon may have been in a fight. Had he finally snapped and gone off on Elijah? Elijah would have killed him. Dreading the answer, she asked, "What happened?"

"Damon, he – he," Alaric faltered, uncertain of how to tell Addie her sister was about to become a vampire.

"He's ok, isn't he?" pressed Addie, searching Alaric's grim face for reassurance.

He nodded slowly, still searching for the right words. "He's fine. It's Elena. Damon fed her his blood."

Addie shook her head, "I don't get it. What do you mean he fed her his blood? Why would he do that?"

"He wanted to make sure Elena came back from the sacrifice."

"But if she dies…," she trailed off, the blood draining from her face. As she began to comprehend the consequences of Damon's action, Addie felt a heavy weight settle in her stomach. There was still hope though. "The potion," she whispered. "The potion brings Elena back from the dead, not his blood. She'll be fine," Addie insisted quietly, trying to convince herself.

Alaric rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. What exactly made him feel the need to be the one to tell Addie about what Damon had done he wasn't exactly sure. Her sister or Stefan or even Elijah should have; they were all probably closer to Addie than he was. They shared Damon, though. The others might not have been able to see his true motive but Alaric knew and he believed Addie would understand that, too.

Uncomfortable he cleared his throat and reluctantly informed, "The potion won't work anymore, not with vampire blood in her system. She dies with the blood in her, not the potion. The vampire blood will instantly begin changing her in ways the potion can't undo. At least that's what Elijah said."

As her eyes began to sting at the formation of tears Addie pushed a hand through her hair. Elena was going to become a vampire and it was all her fault. Vampire blood was in her because Damon wouldn't break his promise to Addie. The potion wasn't a guaranteed way to bring her sister back from death but turning her into a vampire was. Addie didn't brush away the tears as they began to fall.

This was terrible. While Addie had made a deal with Damon that their relationship would end by her 30th birthday just so she could have the option and possibility of having a family, having kids, it wasn't something she had ever wanted. The house with a white picket fence, a husband, and 2.5 kids were something that Elena had always dreamed about. Elena wanted to be a mother and now she never would be. She'd never turn 18 or 21 or any other age ever again. And while Addie couldn't wait for the chance to leave Mystic Falls for a big city, Elena had always talked of staying in town, of possibly raising her family in the same house she had grown up in. None of that was an option now; she could only stay in Mystic Falls so long before people would notice that she wasn't aging. Elena had lost all this because Damon didn't want to break his promise to her; he didn't want her to lose her sister.

"Where's Elena?" asked Addie, her voice weak from crying. She had to apologize to Elena. If Damon hadn't wanted to see Addie hurt, he never would have fed Elena his blood. An apology didn't fix anything but Elena needed to know that Addie had never wished this for her, had never wished to take away the life Elena dreamed about.

"She left with Stefan about 15 minutes ago. I don't know where they went. I'm sorry."

Addie would just have to apologize later. Hopefully Elena would eventually forgive her; she had eternity to do so. Still, there was another person that it was just almost as important that Addie talk to. She wiped away tears but a few continued to fall. Despite her sniffling, the conviction and assertion in her voice was clear when she demanded, "Damon, then. Where is Damon?"

Alaric shook his head, feeling guilty that he couldn't provide better answers. "He took off just after the fight." He felt worse when he saw Addie frown. Sighing Alaric tried, "He was pretty upset. My guess is that he went to the Grill to cool off."

"I'm sure he is upset," she whispered darkly. Thanks," Addie said quickly, scrambling off the bed. In the closet she grabbed the first pair of Converse she came across, not caring if they matched.

Wearily Alaric watched Addie unlace the blue shoes and begin putting them on. He'd always felt it wasn't his business regarding what happened between Addie and Damon, unless he thought his friend was hurting or taking advantage of Addie, but he had gathered enough to know that their fights could get pretty nasty. Alaric doubted either one of them wanted to create a public spectacle about this. Ponderously he asked, "Are you sure you want to talk to him there?"

Addie nodded insistently as she pulled on her second shoe. "Yes, I need to talk to him _now_. Him or Elena. Since she isn't an option, I have to try and deal with Damon."

"I'm not even certain he's there."

Double tying her laces she snorted, "When he's upset he drinks. Actually, he does that for any reason. Where does he do that? Here or the Grill. Damon's at the Grill. He's as predictable as he is unpredictable."

His eyebrows furrowed as he understood why Damon complained about Addie having her own idea of logic that made no sense. "Alright. At least let me take you there," Alaric offered. If things got too intense he could hopefully mediate.

* * *

Damon took another taste of the scotch as he flipped to the halfway point of the last journal by Jonathan Gilbert. None of the other 200 or so books had anything helpful, anything on how to bring Elena back to life. He definitely didn't recall any of them mentioning how to prevent her from turning into a vampire, either. It was unlikely that he was going to find the answer to something impossible in the last hundred pages of the last journal. That wasn't stopping him from searching though. Now, more than ever, he needed a solution.

Hearing light, familiar footsteps approaching him, Damon tensed. He didn't want to deal with her and completely justifiable anger in the middle of town. When Addie sat next to him Damon didn't bother to look up from the old, yellowed pages. He quietly scowled, "Skip the lecture. If you want to yell at me, do it latter. I already know what you're going to say but that doesn't change anything. I'm not sorry and I would do the exact same thing again. You're fine losing me; actually, you're probably better off for breaking up with me. You wouldn't be fine losing Elena, though. If losing you means saving her, which is really just a shortcut to saving you, then it's completely worth it."

Sighing, Addie reached across Damon to cup the side of his face she couldn't see and turned his head to face her. She pushed back the anxiety that bubbled up from being affectionate with him where it was possible for someone she knew to see them. It was hard to ignore the fact that she knew Alaric was watching from the other side of the restaurant and she had seen Matt Donovan busing a table but getting through to Damon was more important. Holding both sides of his face Addie brought him close and gently brushed her lips against his.

Damon stared at her blankly as she dropped her hands from his face and pulled back. Addie didn't seem eager to explain anything as she just stared back into his eyes so he bluntly stated, "I'm confused."

She took his hand from off the bar counter and interlaced her fingers with his. Addie was slightly confused herself. Until she had kissed him, Addie hadn't been certain whether she was furious at him or not. In fact, she had surprised herself with kissing him. Squeezing his hand she smiled slightly and said, "No one is losing anyone."

"I'm more confused."

"I am a little confused, too. I know I'm not angry with you, at least not about this," she admitted.

Damon tilted his head and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. What was she playing at? Quietly he uttered, "You've obviously been crying. You should be pissed. I ruined your plan. Your sister is going to be a vampire. You kissed me. I'm confused."

Addie nodded and acknowledged, "Yes, Elena is going to be a vampire. Yes, I'm devastated about that. I can be pissed at you if that's what you want."

"No," he replied quickly, "I don't want that. It's what makes sense, though.

"You were ready to lose me just to keep a promise to me. You knew I'd be so furious with you for forcing Elena into being a vampire that I would break up with you. That was my initial reaction and what I had every intention of doing," Addie confessed. She held Damon's hand tighter when he went to pull away. With a slight upwards twitch of her lips she reassured, "That's not what I want, though. You did what you did because you didn't want me to be crushed by losing my sister. You knowingly pissed off everyone and pushed me to the point of breaking up with you just because you didn't want to see me hurt. I'm less hurt about my sister being a dead vampire than _dead _dead. At first I thought you did what you did selfishly; no one else mattered as long as you managed to keep your promise and _you_, not Elijah, saved Elena. That didn't make sense though. Why keep a promise if you knew it meant losing me anyway?

"You fed Elena your blood because of something else. You were worried about me and what I would be like if I lost my sister. Your actions were actually selfless. My happiness was more important to you than you being with me. I get how much you care for me. Even though we've been fighting I know it would really hurt you if we broke up. You were willing to be hurt rather than see me hurt.

"I could be mad at you for not trusting in the potion when there was a chance it wouldn't work. I could be mad at you for turning my sister into a vampire. I could be mad for a list of reasons but I'm tired of being angry with you. Being angry with you over this seems childish. Not to cross into your territory of being the cocky one but I know that you view me as one of the most important things in this world. How can I be mad at you when you were willing to give up something you care so much about just for my happiness?" Addie questioned rhetorically. Damon still looked confused so she did the only other possible thing she could think of to make him understand.

Damon's breath caught as Addie leaned in to kiss him again. Her velvet lips pressed insistently against his. As a feeling of relief flowed through him, he softly kissed back, her lips molding against his with every little movement. To keep from burying his hand in her hair, he gripped her hand tighter. Reluctantly he broke the kiss before his desire to deepen it overcame his sense of location. It was shocking that Addie had kissed him at the Grill. While she may have done it twice, he doubted she was willing to makeout in front of the town. In awe he whispered, "You really forgive me?"

Addie nodded. "I do. Damon, these past couple of days I've said some -"

"Doesn't matter," he interrupted. "I once told you that you never need to apologize to me and I meant that. We've both said things we didn't mean. This thing with Klaus and Elena has had us both stressed out. You know I'm not sorry for the actions I've taken; I was only ever doing what I thought best for you. However, I am so sorry for all the awful and hurtful things I have said. I already know you are too; you don't have to say it. Just like you know how much I care about you, I know the same about you. I already know how your heart works and I know you have only been trying to do your best to protect Elena. We've been working towards the same thing but we kept clashing against each other. Maybe one day we'll learn to work together."

She giggled slightly, "We already worked together to get Katherine in the tomb, remember? I think we just need to figure out how to work as a team again. And I do have to apologize for what I've said; I'm sorry."

Damon rolled his eyes dramatically, "I already told you that you don't need to do that. Now, while I have your forgiveness, I'm pretty sure your sister is going to never forgive me. I've been reminded that never is a very long time for a vampire."

Addie shook her head apologetically, "I can't help with Elena."

"I know. I'm hoping that Jonathan Gilbert will have a way to prevent the whole vampire thing in the last 100 pages of 200 journals," he sighed, holding up the old writings.

"I got a text on my way over that Bonnie and Jeremy are going through all the Martins' grimoires looking for a solution, too. We keep her from transitioning and maybe she'll forgive you. If she does, though, at least she'll be more or less alive and hopefully my forgiveness will be enough for eternity."

Damon gave her a sly smirk and winked, "Of course it is. Yours is the one that truly matters, that means something to me. It would just be nice if my brother's girlfriend didn't hate me in 200 years. Holidays will likely be very awkward."

Addie felt a small flame of jealousy ignite within her; Elena would have Damon long after they were done. She wasn't so sure she wanted her sister to forgive Damon if she became a vampire. While Elena had Stefan and seemed more or less supportive of her relationship with Damon, Addie wasn't certain that Elena wouldn't decide to toy with Damon again if she got tired of just Stefan's affections. She nodded in silent acknowledgement of Damon's remark. What if Elena had already gotten into his head, though? He had loved her at one point; that didn't just go away. Addie had to wonder, "If it was me, would you still have done it? Fed me your blood?"

"No," scoffed Damon. "You're different than your sister. I know you wouldn't go through the transition. You hate everything about being a vampire. Why would I go through watching you die by Klaus' hands and then die again rather than change?"

"So you just want Elena to change?" she whispered conflicted. Everything he said was true; she wouldn't change. But he wouldn't even try to convince her?

Damon exhaled loudly as he heard the slight twinge of hurt in Addie's voice. He thought hard, trying to sort out an appropriate way to explain. "What I _want_ doesn't matter. We've discussed you changing before, albeit a bit indirectly. Addie, we set a time limit on our relationship because of it," he chuckled humorlessly. "We have an agreement that I won't ask you to turn. If I'm not going to _ask_, I'm definitely not going to take away your choice. While I would not _want_ to leave your life in the hands of Elijah and a 500 year old potion I would. That offers a small chance that I wouldn't lose you. If I fed you my blood, I lose you twice."

"Uh, thanks, I guess," Addie struggled out.

"Let me put it simply," Damon said softly but firmly as he crooked a finger under her chin and lifted her head to make eye contact, "I care far too much about you and your happiness to feed you my blood if you were in Elena's position. Lucky for both of us it's her facing the situation, not you. I don't know what I would do if I lost you like that."

Addie nodded in agreement, "While I wish I could take her place, I'm grateful it's not me Klaus wants. I know that's awful and selfish of-"

"It's alright that you want to live," Damon said tensely, turning back to the journal so she couldn't see his expression. If he understood Klaus' message correctly and he was right about him viewing her as prey Klaus _did_ want Addie. Fortunately he would be dead in a matter of hours and Damon wouldn't have to worry about him then. To cover up the sense of anything being wrong he lightly jested, "We've come a long way from you telling me to kill you. I think we'll reach the point of perfection when you want to live so much that you won't do reckless things."

"I'm only reckless to help protect the people I care about," she objected indignantly.

Damon shrugged, "I don't really care about other people. I'll be satisfied when you put self-preservation before everyone else."

"You're never going to be satisfied, in that case."

"I know," he grunted unhappily. "I'll just have to settle with doing everything I can to keep you from being careless with your life."

"World War III hasn't broken out yet," gloated a voice on Damon's right side. "I'll take that to mean all's well?"

"Partially," Damon sighed, sparing a glance at Alaric. "I screwed up."

"Yeah. Yeah, you did," Alaric agreed.

"Major understatement," muttered Addie.

"Yeah," drawled Damon. He picked up his and Addie's interlocked hands and rested them on the bar top and studied them. By some miracle Addie was still with him despite what he had done to her sister. She understood why he didn't want her to lose Elena and that meant more to her than the awful fact that he had force fed Elena his blood. Rubbing small circles on the back of her hand with his thumb he decided, "Worth it, though."

Addie stiffened as she felt the familiar sensation of darkness and the desperate desire to run sink in. Reflexively her grip on Damon's hand tightened. He couldn't be there. Not then. Not at the Grill. There were too many people he could hurt. They weren't ready to face him yet. Addie looked around nervously and connected with a pair of blue eyes. The color wasn't bright, light and piercing like Damon's eyes but they were more of a dark teal blue that commanded attention. The eyes paired well with his curly ginger brown hair and red hued scruff. He was close to Damon in height, perhaps an inch or so taller. Addie couldn't deny that he was attractive but Damon was more attractive. Why did she keep comparing him to Damon?

Damon spared a curious look at Addie as he saw her sit up straighter from the corner of his eye. She was clutching at his hand as if her life depended on it and her face was white and haunted looking. He looked back to the journal, trying to finish the book but still made to ask what was wrong when a voice came from his left, where Addie sat.

"Addison. Gentleman. Why so glum?" inquired the blue eyed man in a British accent. Klaus, this was Klaus. Addie could almost taste the bitter blackness that surrounded him.

Noticing that Addie was staring at the man, Damon turned to look at the speaker in annoyance. Alaric seemed to have slipped off his barstool and was pressed back against the counter looking appalled. He took one glance at the bastard's smug look and sighed loudly, dropping his back towards the journal. "Ugh. Klaus, I presume," he scowled, not needing confirmation. Addie and Alaric's reactions were more than enough. And the fact that he dared to call his Ads by her full name. He was lucky to get away with calling her "Addison". There was no way scum like Klaus should get to.

He smirked, "In the flesh." The Original turned to Alaric and gave an acknowledging nod. "Thanks for the loaner, mate."

Damon gave Addie's hand a reassuring squeeze before forcibly removing his from hers and stood up to face Klaus. He wanted to shield Addie from him but he was standing too close for Damon to step in between them Unhappily he settled for wrapping a protective, possessive arm around her shoulders and across her body. Damon only grew further aggravated when he felt Addie sink back against his chest, slightly trembling. Glaring daggers at the other vampire he sneered, "Any reason you stopped by to say hi?"

"I'm told you and your brother fancy my doppelganger," said Klaus slyly, his eyes fixed on Addie.

"You've been told wrong then," Damon sharply interrupted. "I figured you to have been around enough and bright enough to figure out who I fancy."

Klaus briefly looked away from Addie to Damon before silkily replying, "Oh, I have, mate. There's no need to convince me that you're in love with Addison. Though, that doesn't mean you still don't need to convince yourself or her that your heart wholly and truly belongs to her now. I'm told it once belonged to Elena and Katerina, too. Perhaps you have left some of your heart behind along the way."

Addie could feel the rumbling in Damon's chest as he growled out, "I haven't. Do you have a point to make or is my love life so fascinating for you that you simply couldn't resist having a little chat about it over tea and crumpets?"

"I'm fascinated by your love, not your love life," Klaus grinned wickedly at Damon. The dark look that overcome the younger vampire assured Klaus that he understood the double meaning. "Just thought I'd remind you to not do anything you'll regret."

Damon couldn't resist smiling at the irony. He didn't truly regret feeding Elena his blood but as the journal continued to yield no results on how to prevent her transitioning he wondered more and more if he should have taken a chance with the potion. Never _was_ an awfully long time for Elena to hate him. But he knew if he faced the potion or turning Elena again, he'd still feed her his blood. Addie was more important than Elena hating him for eternity. He gave a humorless "ha" and said, "Thanks for the advice."

"I don't suppose I could talk you into postponing this event until the next full moon, could I?" Addie wondered. If they just had a little more time to figure out how to save Elena. If she could die without vampire blood in her system and use the potion. Elena would probably prefer to be _dead_ dead than vampire dead; if they had a little time they could talk about it.

Klaus frowned at her and stated, "You're kidding. Really, of your ragtag group of idiots you seem the most reasonable and smart enough not to interfere with my plans."

"I promise to hand deliver her in exactly 28 days. I'll even tie a bow around her like a present, if you'd like," she offered cheekily.

Pointing at Addie Klaus looked back and forth between the other two men and demanded, "She is kidding, right?"

"About the postponing part?" Alaric shook his head, "No, not really."

"I'm sure she's kidding about hand delivering her sister to you like a cattle for slaughter, though."

Addie huffed in frustration; she'd thought Damon would understand, at least. "_She's_ sitting right here. I'm not kidding about anything. I _will_ hand over my sister like a cattle for slaughter if you wait 28 days."

"Why would I wait?"

"You see, you're advice comes just a little too late," Addie shrugged evasively. "Someone has already done something stupid and it would just be really convenient if I could have a month to discuss this whole thing with my sister. Less than a month, really. Unless you count February. But if you waited over 500 years, what's one more February? Sans leap year, of course."

Klaus peered at her curiously; Addie certainly was odd. Wait a February? "That's exactly the point; I've _waited _500 years. Now, I know you're not stupid enough to stand in my way when I tell you no, I won't wait until the next full moon. Your love struck pup on the other hand…" Klaus trailed off as he shifted his focus from Addie to Damon. "Let me be clear. I have my vampire. I have my werewolf. I have the moonstone. I have everything I need. The ritual will happen tonight. So if you want to live to see tomorrow, don't screw it up," he hissed threateningly before turning to leave. A few feet away he paused and turned back around, "Addison, have you received any interesting mail lately?"

"What?" she asked dumbly, taken aback by the random question.

Klaus eyebrows lifted slightly in mock surprise, "While I was at your house I found a letter for you. I entrusted Alaric to give it to Damon. I thought he might want to give it to you himself. Though, perhaps I was wrong and he doesn't want you to get it at all. My apologies; if I had known I would be seeing you so soon I would have just delivered it myself. You might want to find that envelope though. I don't think they bother sending junk mail across the Atlantic."

Perplexed, Addie watched him carefully as he walked away. "Is it just me or does this whole ritual thing sound a lot less awful when he talks about it?"

Damon snorted, letting go of Addie and sitting back down, "Seriously? First you want to ask him for a favor and now you like his voice?"

"He does make the words 'vampire' and 'werewolf' seem nicer," Addie reflected, her eyebrows knitted together in thought.

"He's the bad guy! He's going to drink your sister to death," Damon reminded curtly.

She could decide whether she wanted to laugh or frown at Damon's tone. "Are you jealous?"

"Of what?" scoffed Damon. "You hate him."

Smirking Addie patted him condescendingly on the back and in a British accent said, "I remember when I use to hate you, too."

"You're not funny," he remarked, looking at her seriously.

"Perhaps not. My humor seems to be lacking," she sighed with the shake of her head. Piercingly she added, "I seem to be lacking an important piece of mail, too."

Damon raised his hands up defensively, "It's on top of my dresser if you want to go and get it now. I wasn't keeping it from you; Ric just gave it to me this morning. It's from the London College of Music. I was going to give it to you tomorrow, once the drama from all the Klaus business died down." It was only a possible lie; he hadn't decided on whether or not he was going to give her the letter or not. "He's just trying to cause drama between us."

"Why would he do that?"

"He's the bad guy?" hesitated Damon. Damn if he knew why Klaus had chosen to hunt Addie and why he was playing mind games with them. Addie didn't look satisfied with his answer. He sighed and gave her an apologetic smile, "As a former bad guy, you can be kinda… antagonizing. Sometimes what goes around comes around. I mean, come on, Ads. You taunted him while he was trying to kill your best friend. That hasn't exactly been one of the brightest things you've done. Then you kinda, in your off-beat way make jokes about the ritual and have the nerve to ask the bad guy to delay his plans for your convenience. Frankly, if you had gotten in the way of me trying to free Katherine I would have screwed with you too."

"Ok, I helped with your stupid little plan and you still screwed with me," she pointed out.

Damon laughed, "No, I didn't screw with you. You were an antagonizing brat so I was an antagonizing dick. Screwing with you would have involved a lot more than sling words back and forth."

Alaric cut in when he saw Addie open her mouth to protest, "You are _both_ antagonizing, in general. You don't need to fight about who started being the pain in the ass first. You were both bound to annoy the shit out of each other either way. I still don't understand how you're together."

"I've learned to not try rationalizing why I'm with Damon. I'll surely think my way out of being with him," Addie explained.

Damon smirked and stuck his tongue out at her, "I totally win that. By that logic I make you irrational."

"No," she insisted. "I choose not to look for the rational; I'm not irrational."

"You make no sense. I win. That was fun. Now, what are we going to do about Klaus?"

Addie leaned forward to look at Alaric, who just rolled his eyes. Well, he might have given up without a fight but she wasn't. Slowly and clearly she told Damon, "We're going to sit on our hands and let him do his ritual."

"Sorry, I misspoke," Damon grinned charmingly. "What am _I_ going to do? You're not going anywhere near Klaus and his crazy ritual."

"Are you telling me what I can and can't do again?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm just telling you what's going to happen."

"That sounds a lot like the same thing. Doesn't it, Alaric?"

The man looked around in surprise at the sound of his name. There had to be another Alaric because there was no way she could possibly think he was getting involved in one of Damon and hers spats.

"No, I think you'll find that Alaric agrees with me on it being a completely separate thing. I'm just relaying what needs to happen in order for me to stop Klaus. You'll stay safe because you want me to be able to do that. It's just a matter of me saying what you're going to decide, not choosing for you. Right, Alaric?"

"You've both lost it if you think I'm getting in the middle of you two. I think you're both just looking out for each other but instead of explaining that like normal people you have to turn it into some kind of fight about who cares more and whoever gives in first wins the title. Or maybe it's whoever doesn't give in that wins. Like I've said, I don't understand how you two work. I do know that you're going to screw it up, aren't you?" he asked Damon, his voice full of exasperation and exhaustion.

Damon pursed his lips and cocked his head and wondered, "You think if I took his werewolf out of the equation, Elena might get over the fact that I tried to turn her into a vampire."

"Alaric's right; you've lost it," declared Addie, staring at Damon as if he had sprouted an extra head.

"I think it won't matter because you'll be dead," supplied Alaric.

Addie nodded in agreement, "Yeah, the only question is whether I kill him for being an idiot before Klaus does."

"But without the werewolf, he can't perform the ritual tonight, which means I would have bought you your February," Damon pushed.

She pulled his face between her hands to make sure she had his attention and urgently replied, "And you'll still be dead! Do you think I want you dead?! You know what? I'm fine with my sister becoming a vampire; I can live with the guilt. I'm not fine with you dying to possibly save Elena! Have awkward holidays 200 years from now! Righting this mistake isn't worth your life."

"You feel guilty for what _I_ decided to do?" he said softly, as he placed one of his hands over hers. Damon hadn't even thought about how Addie might feel besides pissed off with him when he fed Elena his blood. He closed his eyes, angry with himself. He should have known better. He had done what he did _for her_. Her sister was going to face something she didn't want because of his actions to minimize how much Addie hurt. Of course she was going to blame herself for something he chose. Addie was blaming herself for his blunder. She insisted she was selfish but it was so much of her selflessness that made her who she was, that drew him to her. If he had realized she would feel guilty…

"That doesn't matter, Damon. You say you're always doing what you think will be best for me or make me happiest. How do you think I'm going to feel when _you_ die?" Addie whispered, resting her forehead against his.

"You need your sister, you-"

Addie flinched at what she knew he was going to say and interrupted him before he could, "And after tonight I'll still have my sister. We both know Elena is going to go through with the transition. She's still going to be here; she'll be here for forever. But, Damon, messing with Klaus' plan is going to get you killed. And why? So we can wait a month and use a potion that _might_ keep her here? No. You can't do this. You said my forgiveness was enough. Why can't you let that be true? Why is your life worth her forgiveness?"

"Your forgiveness is enough," he reassured her. "I need to forgive myself though. Ads, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about how gui-"

"You want to make this about guilt? How guilty do you think I'm going to feel when you die trying to save _my_ sister? When you die trying to undo something you did for _me_? Damon, you might think you know what I might be like come tomorrow and you're not here but you have no idea. I can't lose you, I just can't. Why do you think I'm still with you despite how crazy you drive me and the insane things you do? I need you," she finished so quietly he wouldn't have understood her if it wasn't for his enhanced hearing.

With a small smile he kissed her forehead and pulled back. Damon had no idea how she knew to say exactly what he needed to hear at the perfect time. It didn't much matter though; all that mattered was that she needed him. The least he could do for her was help her avoid the guilt from his actions. "Why don't we go home and open the envelope?" he suggested.

Addie looked at him suspiciously, "Just like that? You're not gonna ignore what I want and go off and take Klaus' werewolf?"

"How can I?" he smirked. "You need me."

* * *

Addie felt her chest constrict as she picked the envelope off of Damon's dresser. A wave of nausea struck her as she read _London College of Music_ above the return address. She hadn't been expecting something back from there. Scholarship notifications were mailed out in early April. The envelope was postmarked well after that. It didn't surprise her now that Damon was going to wait until the following day to give it to her. He probably thought it was good news that would cheer her up after waking to find her sister a vampire. She hadn't told him when she would be notified if she had won the scholarship.

She contemplated ripping the envelope right then; she didn't need to read a rejection letter of how the music she had worked so hard on wasn't good enough. Damon was lighting a fire in the study, though. Addie was certain she would take much more satisfaction in burning it, that way nothing could be left of it to mock her. Her eyebrows furrowed when she entered the library and saw no fire in the grate. She had left Damon putting a log into the fireplace. Wondering if something was wrong she looked around the room for him, even though it was obvious he wasn't there.

"Damon?" Addie called out as she returned to the hallway. She moved into the living, the kitchen. "Damon!" She crossed her arms in front of her and tapped her foot impatiently. He would usually have shown up by then; he wasn't one to keep her waiting. Annoyed now she called out again, "This isn't funny, Damon!" When he didn't appear again she began to wander the house again. She even went down into the basement to look for him.

That was it; Addie could not find Damon Salvatore anywhere in the house. An ugly thought crossed her mind but she quickly pushed it aside and went to stick her head out into the backyard. He wasn't there either. She stalked back into the hallway. "I swear to God you better be playing some screwed up game of hide and seek where you are vamping your way out of sight," she yelled, going to the front door. Praying to see his car parked outside, Addie went to check. "You lying little bastard," she seethed, when she didn't see the blue Camaro. Walking back in, she whipped out her phone and furiously texted Damon.

_Addie: You better not be doing something stupid._

His response was almost instant, which she wasn't sure if she was relieved by that or more infuriated.

**Damon: You rank my plans on a scale of stupidity. Of course I'm doing something that would count as stupid to you.**

_Addie: No, I consider your plans over a range from bad to downright suicidal. Where does whatever you're doing fit on THAT scale?_

**Damon: Relax. Alaric's with me. You think he'd agree to something insane? Don't worry**

_Addie: You better hope Klaus doesn't kill you, otherwise I'm finding a way to bring you back from the dead just to kill you myself._

**Damon: Aww! You really do care about me. Open your envelope and chill. I promise I'll see you seen. You know I've been doing a very good job of keeping those lately. I'm not going to ruin my streak.**

Scowling, Addie tossed the phone and envelope she was still holding onto Damon's bed as she began to pace. He was right; Alaric wouldn't let him get involved in anything too crazy. If he actually was with him. Rolling her eyes at the stress Damon put her through Addie grabbed her phone again.

_Addie: Are you with Damon?_

Alaric: Yes. He says your faith in him is astounding. Is he being sarcastic?

_Addie: What do you think? Please don't let him do something to get himself killed._

Alaric: Yeah, ok, I'll make sure to stop Damon from doing something he wants to do.

It was pointless; Alaric could control Damon just as well as she could. What was she supposed to do? Jeremy and Bonnie were at the witch house looking for a way to save Elena from becoming a vampire. Helping them seemed like the best idea but Addie wasn't exactly sure she could find the house without Damon's assistance. Stefan and Elena were MIA but probably off doing the same as her brother and best friend so apologizing to her was still not an option. Everyone was trying to help Elena escape becoming a vampire except her; that didn't settle right.

There was one other person not helping, Addie realized in a sudden bout of inspiration. John had no idea that Elena had Damon's blood in her. She wasn't even sure if he knew about the ritual. Surely she would have seen him around trying to prevent it if he had known. John was the one who knew about the dagger and ash to take down an Original. He knew a lot about vampires; surely he knew how to prevent someone from becoming one. She had to get home and explain everything to him.

* * *

The warmth from the steaming mug of hot cocoa was the only thing Addie could feel as she sat curled up in the armchair. Everything else was numb, even her emotions seemed to be muffled. She was surprised that she wasn't freaking out about the upcoming ritual or what danger Damon was likely getting himself into. She was surprised she wasn't doing more to try and keep Elena from turning, like everyone else. Perhaps it was because she knew it was useless and the shock of having a vampire sister was superseding any other emotions.

John hadn't exactly been helpful when Addie informed him of what was going on involving Elena. She wasn't exactly sure if he had an idea of how to save Elena when he muttered something about the lake house or if he was fetching weapons to try and kill Damon. If he had a plan, great. If he was going after Damon, well, Addie was fairly confident he could handle himself in another round with John.

Now everyone else was off doing something productive while she sat on her hands and did nothing to interfere. It may have been a bit callous and selfish but she couldn't find the desire to _want_ to screw with Klaus or to waste the energy searching for a cure to prevent vampirism when there wasn't one. Addie was jerked out of her thoughts when she heard the house phone ring.

From the kitchen table Jenna requested, "Addie, get that please? I'm in the middle of a paragraph for my thesis and I'm trying to figure out the next sentence."

So she wasn't exactly the only one not doing anything towards the Klaus/Elena situation. Though, her aunt didn't really know anything making Addie uncertain of whether or not to count her as a member of Team Elena. Anxiety broke through the dulled emotions as she went to pick up the phone; she hated talking on the phone. "Hello?"

"Addie?" quivered the voice of her sister on the other end.

"Elena!" she exclaimed in relief. "Where have you been? I need to talk to you."

"I-I-I," stammered Elena, her voice cracking. "God, Addie it's awful! Please, you have to come back to the boarding house right away."

Addie felt a chill course through her body. Damon _had_ done something incredibly stupid like she feared. Nervously she asked, "What happened? What's wrong?"

"It's this whole thing with Klaus. I need to see you. Please, Addie," Elena pleaded.

Addie winced at guilt she felt for the wave of relief she felt at finding out her sister was just scared and nothing had happened to Damon. "Ok, Elena. I'll be right there," she promised, hanging up the phone. "Going back to the boarding house. Elena wants to see me," Addie called to Jenna as she moved to put on the Converse she had left by the front door.

"What?" Jenna replied in confusion, getting up from the table. "What happened now? Is she ok?"

"She, well, she just needs me right now," Addie said evasively. She wasn't exactly sure whether Elena was ok or not; she was about to become a vampire. "Everything will be fine. I just have to go," she rushed out, moving out the door before Jenna could ask anymore questions.

As soon as she stepped out of the front porch something caught her around the waist. Addie made to scream but a hand clasped over her mouth. Instinctively she swallowed when she felt something warm and metallic began to flood her mouth. Blood. The hand dropped and she felt the pressure on her waist release. Immediately Addie started to spluttered the blood from her mouth but in the back of her mind she knew it was pointless; she already had some in her system. Slowly she began to become aware of the dark, malicious presence that surrounded her. Her desire to fight back and run hadn't been from just anyone attacking her; it had been from Klaus.

Spitting one last time, Addie saw a pair of shiny dress shoes step in front of her. Angry, she snapped, "What the hell is up with everyone force feeding people blood today?"

"Sorry about that, Addison, but I felt the need for an insurance policy," Klaus said coolly, not sounding at all apologetic.

"An insurance policy? What the hell are you talking about?"

Klaus grabbed her by the elbow and made to move to the sleek black sedan that was parked in front of the house but Addie refused to budge. "Angel, I'd cooperate if I were you," Klaus hissed in an overly sweet voice. "Play along and I might just let you live."

"What do you mean you needed an insurance policy?" Addie seethed as she let Klaus march her to the car. There was no point in fighting him like she would Damon. She knew Klaus would kill her without hesitation.

"I'm not convinced that your love struck pup is going to heed my advice and not screw with my plans," Klaus explained as he started the car. "He may be willing to risk his own life but I highly doubt he will risk yours. If he cares so much about whether or not Elena becomes a vampire, I'm betting he is far more concerned as to whether or not you become one."

Staring blankly ahead as Klaus made his way towards Alaric's apartment Addie tried to process what exactly Klaus wanted. He wanted his ritual to forward. He didn't want Damon doing anything to screw that up by possibly killing his werewolf or something along those lines. He knew Damon was reckless enough to do it even though he knew Klaus would kill him. Klaus hoped that by using Addie as a hostage and threatening to turn her, Damon wouldn't interfere.

"Exactly how long do I have to _play along_ before you let me go and leave Damon alone?" demanded Addie.

Klaus' lips twitched as he fought a smile. "As long as everyone cooperates, you'll be safe and human in his arms by morning."

"And what am I supposed to do in order to fulfill my role in cooperating and playing along?" she continued to question as she followed him into Alaric's apartment building.

"You can try to not be an annoying nuisance but I doubt that you are capable of that so I'm going to be lenient. Barring Damon screwing up my plan, you'll come to no harm unless you make me quite angry," Klaus related, unlocking and opening the door to Alaric's. "I have quite the nasty temper." He stopped in the doorway and looked around the apartment, "Where's Maddox? He should be back by now."

"I'm guessing that's your witch. How would I know where _your_ witch is? You should really keep closer tabs on things key to the ritual."

Klaus sighed and looked over his shoulder at Addie, "Why would I ask you such a question? I think it would prove to be a conflict of interest if you knew where my witch was. Does Damon enjoy you being such a wiseass?"

Addie smirked, "He encourages it. Annoying you already, am I? I'd pick a less witty insurance policy. You could always let me go and threaten to shave his head. I think he cares about his hair more than he cares about me. You should really consider the idea. What if he wants me to be a vampire? You can't know for sure that he doesn't but you can be certain that he doesn't want to lose his hair."

"Why did you have to bring that annoying thing back here? Couldn't you have left her with the wolf and vampire?" Katherine whined.

Addie stopped following Klaus in at the sound of Katherine's voice and when he moved to sit behind a laptop he could see the other vampire. "Damn," she swore. "I was really counting on you being dead."

"I'm making it conditional on your lives that you two play nicely. I don't want any petty cat fights," Klaus dictated.

"It's not petty," both girls responded simultaneously.

"See? You have much in common. Get along."

"Fine," Addie grunted. "I'll make nice with the bi - lovely woman who tried to kill my boyfriend, tried unsuccessfully to seduce him, and then betrayed my friends and me. Katherine, I apologize for everything," she said, holding her hand out for the vampire to shake.

Katherine eyed the younger girl suspiciously for a moment before shaking her hand. She tried to hint at her helping Damon find Tyler Lockwood and Caroline Forbes by informing her, "Your boyfriend and I reached amends before I decided to part ways with you." She had to be careful, she couldn't let Klaus figure out that Damon had been by. "So, same sentiments and all that good stuff."

When Katherine shook Addie's hand she didn't get any sense of darkness. Curious. She had thought the negative vibe from Klaus was so strong that it blocked out Katherine's. Either Katherine was being sincere or Klaus was so evil that he prevented her from reading the other vampire even when she touched Katherine. That was food for thought, Addie decided as she moved to sit on Alaric's couch

"What are you doing?" Katherine asked Klaus from her place at the kitchen table. He ignored her. She tried again, "Where's Elena?"

Addie almost got whiplash from how fast she looked up from her nails to Klaus sitting opposite her. "You already took Elena? Is she ok?"

"Having her in a position of less than ok would not exactly be ideal for my plan, now would it?" Klaus replied lightly. "I took her to Greta right before picking up Addie."

"Who's Greta?"

"Another insurance policy. Really, I have quite a few." Staring at his computer screen intently he muttered, "It's almost time."

All heads turned when the door flew open. No one was there. Klaus turned back to his computer while Katherine and Addie focus on Damon, who had appeared on the other side of the room.

"I wasn't aware you were invited in," Klaus mused, relaxing back in his chair but not looking at Damon.

"I wasn't aware my girlfriend dropped in for a visit," Damon growled, glaring at Addie.

She held up her hands defensively and retorted, "It's a bit more complicated than that."

"It's actually quite simple," interjected the Original. "Your girlfriend has my blood rushing through her veins. You screw with my plan and, well, I'm sure even you can put two and two together."

Addie scoffed and rolled her eyes as she watched Damon pale. She _knew_ he was going to do something insanely stupid. With false excitement she clapped and rubbed her hands eagerly, "So tell us what you've done. I'm _dying_ to know."

"Seriously, Addie?"

"The whole matter seems a lot less grim if you find the humor in the situation," she shrugged.

"Right," he sighed in frustration. Why couldn't she have just stayed in the house, where it was safe? Damon wasn't entirely convinced she wasn't just trying to stress him to death. He turned his focus to Klaus; he'd deal with Addie later, if there was a later. "I've come here to tell you that you have to postpone the ritual."

Klaus looked at him in boredom, "Weren't you there when I had this conversation with Addison?"

"Yeah but that was before I rescued your werewolf and vampire and killed your witch," Damon answered flatly.

Klaus stood quickly but he drew out turning towards the younger vampire while he slowly enunciated, "Excuse me?"

"If you're a man of your word you'll kill me for it and not her," Damon replied firmly, nodding his head towards Addie. "It's cheating to change the terms mid-game; especially when you don't inform the other player. Besides, she doesn't deserve to die. You can kill me for it; I don't care. It was all… me."

Addie's grip on the coffee table was so tight her knuckles had turned white. What the hell was Damon doing? Did he have any idea what he was saying? He had to be playing Klaus in some way.

"Katerina, Addison, give us a moment," ordered Klaus.

Katherine left but Addie ignored the warning look Damon tossed her and only made to stand and defy, "No."

The look that Klaus gave her made him seem darker than ever. The desire to run hadn't been so bad since she first met him as Alaric that day in history. With a quirk of his eyebrow he said, "As you wish." He moved right into Damon's face and quietly sneered, "I've heard about you. The crazy, impulsive vampire in love with both his brother's girl. I knew one of you would try to stop me. It as just a 50/50 guess of who."

"You know, saying I love Elena is starting to get annoying. I _use to_ feel that way about her but I think I've made it very clear as to whom I have feelings for now."

Klaus raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Really? Addison, is that true? Do you believe Damon no longer harbors any feelings for Elena?"

"I'm not playing along anymore," she bit back. It wasn't that she thought Damon was still in love with Elena but… he went above and beyond for her. Or was that all just to make her happy? Though, if he was more concerned of her feelings than Elena's, he wouldn't have freed Caroline and Tyler.

When it was clear that Addie wasn't going to say more, the Original gave Damon a knowing look. "Notice how that was not a no? I wish I could say you'll have the chance to talk things out and to try and explain yourself but that would mean I don't kill either one of you. Here's a hint as to what is going to happen: you won't both make it out of this alive.

"The nice thing about werewolves," Klaus continued, angling the laptop screen so Damon could see it, "is that they tend to travel in packs." He closed the laptop lid and detached the cell phone that was streaming live footage. "Need a closer look?" he gleamed, tossing the phone to Damon.

Addie watched Damon closely as he looked at the video but he didn't seem to have a reaction. Catching her eyes when he looked up he answered her unspoken question. "Jules," he informed her. Addie considered this for a moment; _if _she had to pick a werewolf to die it would be Jules considering she tried to kill Damon at least three times. The first time he had been lucky that she'd bit Rose. Elijah stopped her the other two times but his protection of them ended the moment Klaus died. If Jules lived, she'd probably take a fourth shot at him and Addie doubted that Elijah would be around to save the day. Jules deserved to die far more than Tyler did. Her lips twitched downwards as she contemplated how horrible it was to say one person's life was worth more than another's.

Klaus spoke softly as he circled menacingly around Damon, "When you spend a thousand years trying to break a curse," he leaned in close to Damon's ear and hissed, "you learn a thing or two." He finished his circle until he was standing in front of Damon again and disclosed, "First rule; always have a backup. Backup werewolf. Backup witch."

Damon followed Klaus' gaze as it drifted towards Addie. Anger boiled in him. There was no way in hell that he was going to let Addie be used in some fucked up ritual. Especially not when she would end up dead. His eyes met Klaus' as he glowered, "She is _not_ your backup vampire."

"We'll see," the Original shrugged before delivering an uppercut that rendered Damon unconscious.

As soon as Addie saw Klaus' fist connect with the underside of Damon's chin she cried out for him. She rushed over to where he had fallen and slapped lightly at his face continuing to say his name.

Rolling his eyes at her useless attempt, Klaus retreated to the same bedroom as Katherine. He grimaced as he watched her sit carelessly on the bed, ignoring his entrance. "There's been a change of plans," he announced.

"Why? You have Damon now. Use him for the sacrifice. Or change the brat and use her," Katherine coolly suggested with a one shouldered shrug. "Either way works for me."

"Damon _was_ the backup plan," he bristled, "and I have no intention of killing her quite yet."

"I repeat, use Damon."

Klaus barked backed furiously, "I can't. He's as good as dead; I need a healthy vampire. He was bitten by a werewolf making his blood impure." Wrinkles formed on his forehead as he thought hard. He could feel the heat of a fever radiating off of Damon when he entered, His wager was that in freeing the werewolf Damon was bitten. With trying to lift this curse he'd been careless at times and didn't have the animal as shut up as he should have. He'd lost a handful of faithful subjects to a werewolf bite; the fever was always the first sign that the was coming. Now he was short a backup vampire. He doubted that he could obtain Stefan in time nor did he want to turn Katerina or Addison; he had other plans for them.

"I need you to do a repeat performance of Elena on Jenna Gilbert in thirty minutes," he decided, "Lure her out. I'll change and use her," related Klaus as he moved out of the bedroom. Addie was sniveling on the floor, cradling Damon's head in her lap, stroking at his hair. "Enough whining. Stop," he demanded of her. Addie ignored him, her eyes trained on Damon, searching for signs of life. Scowling, Klaus' reached down, grabbed her just above the elbow and forced her to stand. "He'll wake up soon. He's knocked out, not dead. He'll be fine," Klaus told her, uncertain of why he was comforting her.

"Until you kill him!" she quipped back, rubbing away the tears on her face angrily.

"I'm not doing that," he growled pulling her towards the door. "I don't see why I should let him escape the misery he is going to be in. Now, come. I have a new vampire to make."

A lead weight landed in the pit of Addie's stomach right as it felt like she had the wind knocked out of her. She never _really_ believed Klaus would turn her into a vampire for what Damon had done.

* * *

"Give me your phone," Klaus demanded, taking one hand off the steering wheel and holding it out palm up.

Addie eyed his hand warily. "Why?" she stalled, still trying to figure out a way away from Klaus.

"Because I've kidnapped you and you haven't once tried to use it to call for help. Having a phone is a privilege, not a right. If you're going to have one you should use it responsibly. Not calling for help? Very irresponsible."

"Are you seriously giving me a lecture because I didn't try to escape?" she asked blankly, certain she had to be misinterpreting what he was saying.

Klaus shook his head and calmly answered, "No. I'm lecturing you because it seems you haven't learned a lesson."

"And what, Mr Miyagi, would that be?"

"You lack a sense of self-preservation. That's going to get you killed or turned if you keep hanging around vampires," he explained.

Addie scoffed, "You're fucking Superman and nobody I know has any kryptonite. Asking for anyone's help would have just gotten them killed. That's not lacking self-preservation; it's caring about others."

"They are the exact same thing. Emotions for others gets you killed; just ask your boyfriend."

"Can you please just leave Damon alone?" she groaned. "He's an idiot, yes. But are you so threatened by him that you have to keep screwing with him?"

"Not at all. He's like an irritating little fly that just won't go away, though. Whack a flyswatter enough and you're bound to hit it eventually," Klaus eluded. He wasn't going to tell her that Damon was dying. It would be far more damaging when he told her himself. Or seeing him completely lose his mind for some unknown reason would also hurt pretty bad. "Give me your phone," he ordered more firmly, his hand still waiting for it.

"_No._ You claim to want it because I didn't learn some lesson on self-preservation so no."

"Are you going to give it to me or do I need to pull over, snap your neck, and just take it?"

If his blood wasn't pumping through her veins she might have dare to tell him that was the only way he'd get it. But if he killed her then, there would be the whole vampire situation to face. Addie reluctantly pulled her phone from her pocket and dropped it in his hand. She could be temperamental but she wasn't stupid.

"What the hell?" Addie gasped in horror as the electronic device snapped and crushed in his fist.

Klaus shrugged as he parked the car in front of her house, "I don't feel like you need a phone to warn people about my approaching." Klaus met her eyes and compelled her, "Go up to your room right now. Don't leave the house until tomorrow."

Addie felt a deep desire to do as Klaus had instructed but she fought back against it. "Why?" she strained. It was a lost harder to resist his compulsion than it had been to resist Damon's. Damon; he wanted her to keep the little compulsion business between them. She was only to reveal she couldn't be compelled if a life depended on it. Klaus wasn't going to kill Damon. Elena was going to come back. No life depended on her ignoring the compulsion but that didn't stop her from wanting to go to the ritual to make sure everything went according to plan. But if Klaus saw her, she was dead. They didn't _need_ or probably even want her there. An annoying voice that sounded a lot like Damon told her to just do as Klaus said. _Fine_; she'd go up to her room. That didn't mean she was going to stay there, though.

"You don't need to watch me kill your sister. It's gonna hurt you enough that she's dead," Klaus readily replied. Nodding at him, Addie got out of the car and walked inside. He checked the clock. Eight minutes until he could expect Jenna to be coming out.

* * *

Thoroughly pissed off, Damon let the front door slam behind him. Storming towards the library he called Addie again only to receive her voicemail again. If he didn't have shit to do he would have paused long enough to rip Katherine's black heart out. He'd slipped her the vervain as a favor! She was supposed to owe him! Instead she let Klaus take his girlfriend to turn her into a vampire. The she was such a bitch.

Damon snatched the last Gilbert journal off the end table in the study and flipped to where he had left off. No matter how much he wrecked his brain he couldn't think of a way to find where Klaus took Addie. He didn't know how to stop her from becoming the thing she hated most. She was probably already in transition. She'd want death but Klaus would force her to feed so he could have a vampire to kill. God, how the hell was he going to keep Klaus from killing her?

_Find the humor in the situation._ There had to be some twisted irony in that he wouldn't have to tell her he was dying because she'd be dead first. He wasn't seeing it though. He couldn't just sit back and accept that she was going to die but what was he supposed to do? How did he stop the ritual when he had no idea where it took place or had the location of one of the important factors to steal?

He should never have left her alone. If he had been home she wouldn't have been at her house and never would have answered Katherine's call. Of course she would go running to a freaked out Elena, just like Klaus wanted. It was very inconvenient that her little vampire deception ability didn't work on the phone. The one time she confused Katherine and Elena! He should have locked her in the closet or something and gone on to stop the ritual! The fact that he felt the need to lock her away when Bonnie went to "kill" Klaus and to do so again probably said more about him than it did about how much she could stress him out. He tried to call again but only grew more stressed and anxious when he continued getting her voicemail.

According to Katherine, Elena was with Klaus' witch already, Klaus had the moonstone on him, he had Addie and she had no idea where Jules or anyone else was. He kept trying to think but all his mind could produce was a stake, desiccated Addie.

He couldn't just sit there and do nothing, though. He literally couldn't just sit; when he paced he felt like he was at least getting _somewhere_, even if it was only to the other side of the room. Maybe Stefan had found out something more. He was with Elijah and he had to know where the sacrifice was going to take place. With one hand pouring a measure of scotch Damon used his other to scroll past 23 unanswered calls in his history log before coming across Stefan.

"Damon," his brother answered on the first ring.

Damon ran his fingers through his hair uncomfortably as he searched for the right word. Realizing what he was doing he stopped and stared at his hand for a long moment; he'd picked up that mannerism from Addie. Mentally he slapped himself back to reality. "You're not going to like what I have to say."

"Cut to the chase. Is the sacrifice happening or not?" Stefan replied curtly.

Damon took a drink. "It's happening. I tried to stop it but it got complicated."

"We're sticking to the original plan. We're meeting Bonnie right now," relayed Stefan as he walked with Alaric and Elijah to the old witch house.

"I don't suppose there's a plan where we keep the ritual from happening?"

Stefan sighed in frustration; he wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with his brother's complaints. "No, we've been over this!"

"No, we haven't because now it's different!" Damon snapped back. "He's got Addie, Stefan."

"What?"

"He got Katherine to lure her out of the house and Klaus ambushed her," he relayed bitterly. "He's going to use her as the vampire in the ritual."

"Oh, my God," breathed Stefan.

Damon snorted into his drink. "Yeah, it's great. So, like I said, any other plans?"

Stefan leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes. Could he do it? Do it so Elena could keep her sister? Do it for his brother whom he forced to turn? Do it to save the one person, the only person who broke through all his brother's walls and still stood by his side? "I'll call you back."

Damon stared at the phone when Stefan hung up on him. He'd call back? What the hell did that mean? More importantly what the hell was he supposed to do? With renewed determination he picked up the last journal to read the last few pages. If he couldn't save Addie, maybe he could at least find a way to save her sister.

After about twenty pages Damon faltered over a sentence.

_Today Emily harnessed the power of blood and unconditional love to restore the life Ariella Fell's baby. While we lost Ariella her life force remains as she gave it up to bring her child back to life. _

It sounded as crazy as the rest of Johnathan Gilbert's writings but if it was true, there was one person who could save Elena from becoming a vampire.

Damon's thoughts were interrupted by a loud, persistent knocking at the front door. He debated on whether or not he should ignore it and hope whoever it was went away and answering it just to get that damn pounding to stop. It was making his head hurt. Scowling, he headed down the hall to the noise. "Already heard ya," he muttered as the banging continued. "Knocking more doesn't make me care more." A searing pain like burning in the sun suddenly shot through his body, making him stumble into the wall. Damon used the wall as leverage and support as he right himself again. He pushed up the sleeve of his left arm; the little nip had turned the skin around it and most of his upper forearm a dark purple, almost black. If this was just the start it was going to be a bitch of a death.

Finally Damon reached the door and yanked it open and his scowl deepened at the sight of John in his door way. "Great," he smirked. "I was just thinking about getting a bite to eat."

Ignoring the remark, John pushed his way into the house. "I need to see her. I need to see Elena. She won't answer my calls."

Damon shut the front door and turned to John and shrugged, "Too bad. You're a day late and a daughter short, John."

"I know. I know! Addie came over and told me everything this morning. She thought I might be able to help."

"And are you?" Damon sneered, walking back towards the study.

John hesitated and instead of answering rounded on Damon. "How could you let this happen?" he demanded. "You were supposed to keep her safe. Wasn't that the sum total of your plan? To keep her safe?"

Damon nodded casually as he picked up the old journal off the table and thumbed through it. Without looking from the book he spoke, "She is safe. I fed her my blood."

"You what?"

"When Klaus kills Elena in the sacrifice, she will come back to life. Granted, as the thing you hate most in the world, but no one really cares what you think.

Damon went to cross the room when John attempted to grab him. Using his vampire speed Damon reverse the situation, spinning John around and slamming him chest first into the wall. He bitingly warned, "You do not want to mess with me right now." Letting go of John he went to retrieve the journal he had tossed in the arm chair.

"You ruined her life. You know that, right?" the man fumed, eyeing Damon with disgust.

"I know, John. I took her choice, destroyed her future. Trust me, I get it. It actually gets worse," he muttered, walking back to fix another scotch.

"How could it possibly get any worse?"

Damon hummed as he pretended to consider the question before answering, "You know that niece that changed her mind about roasting me alive? The one that you hate me dating? Well, she was attacked by Klaus and now she's the vampire he's going to sacrifice." Damon shrugged again, "What can I say? I saved one out of two."

"Klaus is doing _what_ with Addie?" John asked dumbfounded.

"The ritual calls for a vampire to die. Klaus thought it would be fun to use Addie. Unfortunately, neither one of us can save her." Finding the right page, Damon shoved the journal into John's hands. "While you can't be Super Uncle, you can still save Elena if you're willing to die in her place."

* * *

Damon's arms trembled as he carried Elena's lifeless body back to the witch house. He had left Stefan, Bonnie, and Elijah at the quarry to finish off Klaus. The moment he had reached the ritual site a pain throbbed in his chest with each beat of his heart. He couldn't find Addie. Everyone was just as shocked as he was to find Jenna was the victim vampire. It didn't make sense. Katherine told him Klaus took Addie with him to go make a new vampire. Considering he had already threatened to do that to Addie and she had his blood in her, it was logical to think that Klaus meant her.

Not seeing her where he had expect terrified him more than the of her being in Jenna's place. Klaus had been the last one seen with Addie and now there was no clue as to where she was. Had he done like Damon wished he had and locked her up some place? Or had something far worse happened. Not knowing where she was and not being able to reach her was terrifying. Especially since he knew Klaus _was_ hunting her. He was playing games with her. Damon had done his fair share of hunting someone and some of the things he had done were downright deplorable. Damon was willing to bet that Klaus was even darker and more twisted than he was. There was no telling what he had done to Addie.

Trying to distract himself from the possible horrors Addie was facing, if she was still alive, Damon looked down into Elena's face and focused on her as he carried her into the parlor room. "If you come back as a vampire, I'll stake you myself. So don't." He carefully laid her down on the old sofa and pushed a strand of stray hair out of her face. Her lips pouted ever so slightly, just like Addie's. They definitely shared the same cheekbones, too. Quietly he continued, "I know Addie forgives me but I can't stand the idea of you hating me forever." Damon heard two pairs of footsteps rush into the room but he didn't care. As he continued to stroke Elena's hair he was assaulted by image after image of different times Addie had run her fingers through her hair.

He was vaguely aware of Jeremy asking, "How is she?"

Damon swallowed against the hard lump in his throat. He had absolutely no idea how Addie was. Was she scared? Alone? Cold? Trapped? He shook his head and muttered, "I don't know yet."

"What about Addie?" her brother asked weakly.

Damon's face was void and hollow as he looked back at Alaric and Jeremy. "I have no idea," he whispered, admitting it out loud made things seem ten times worse. "She wasn't there. Addie wasn't… Klaus got to Jenna somehow."

"No," Alaric insisted, shaking his head.

"I'm so sorry, Jeremy."

The teens lips were pressed into a thin, quivering line. His voice cracked, "Where is Addie?"

"She left Alaric's with Klaus earlier…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

"Where is she? Where is she now?" Jeremy begged, his voice trembling and higher than usual.

Damon looked back at Elena, unable to take the stares from Alaric and Jeremy. Feebly he admitted, "I don't know."

Jeremy and Alaric stare blankly at Damon. Behind them, John silently came up from the basement and slipped out the front door into the yard. Alaric moved out of the room too, trying to understand what happened to Jenna. Outside, John looked back in the house and as he did Elena gasped for air.

* * *

"I can't do it," Bonnie uttered defeatedly, staring down at the map. "I can't find her."

"Do it again!" snapped Damon as he paced the basement of the witch house.

"I've done it eight times!" the witch shot back, slamming her hands on the old wooden table for emphasis. "I've tried Jeremy's blood on a city, state, country and globe map. I've tried Elena's blood on a city, state, country and globe map. It's not working! What more do you expect me to do?"

"I expect you to be a semi-competent witch and do a simple locator spell!" he sneered.

Bonnie glared at Damon and sent him to his knees, clutching his head in pain and groaning.

Jeremy got up from the corner he sat in and stepped in between the witch and vampire. "Stop it!" he yelled. Bonnie's gaze broke from Damon to Jeremy. Damon stopped groaning but he still clutched at his head as he waited to heal from several small aneurysms; the werewolf bite seemed to be interfering in how fast he recovered. "You two fighting isn't solving a thing."

"Nothing is being solved because I can't find Addie."

Damon, back on his feet, snarled, "No. You _can_ find her. You just aren't trying hard enough. Or maybe you're casting the spell wrong!"

Moving in front of Bonnie Jeremy held up his hands, motioning for Damon to back off. "Can we be reasonable about this? Both of you?" Damon exhaled loudly and backed up a few feet, crossing his arms impatiently. Jeremy looked over his shoulder at Bonnie who nodded with an eyeroll. "Now, Bonnie's doing the spell right. She used my blood to track Elena back home."

"Then why can't she find Addie?" demanded Damon.

"It won't work!" the witch snapped back.

"Stop fighting," Jeremy dictated. He waited in the tension filled silence for a few seconds before turning to Bonnie. "Can you explain _how_ it's not working? I'm not asking why. I want to know what should happen when you do the spell and what is actually happening."

Bonnie pushed Jeremy a few steps to the side so Damon could see what she was talking about. She picked up the map of Virginia and began, "Say Elena was in Lynchburg. Jeremy is a blood relative so I can track her there with his blood. I drop a tiny bit of his blood over where we are and his blood should move over the map and stop right over Lynchburg." Bonnie put the map down and shrugged. "When I try to find Addie nothing happens. We started with the state map and I thought it didn't work because she's right here in Mystic Falls. So we moved to a city map because she's obviously not with us and Stefan and Elena checked the boardinghouse and Addie's. I repeated the spell and got nothing. Maybe it wasn't working because she isn't in the state so the blood couldn't move to the right place; hence the tries with the map of the US and then the global map. I'm still getting nothing."

"So she's in space?"

"Maybe!"

"Stop! Can we save being smartasses until we get my sister back and she shows us all how to _really_ be a smartass?" Jeremy held out for positive acknowledgements from both Bonnie and Damon.

Damon ran his hand over his face. According to Katherine, Addie left with Klaus around 7PM the previous day. They were closing in on 15 hours without being able to reach her. If it hadn't been for the curse breaking the previous night, he wouldn't be so stressed out about Addie going MIA. It wouldn't have been the first time he lost her for hours. However, she had been freaking out over the ritual since they started dating. Damon was surprised when she wasn't right in the middle of things. He got scared when she never checked in to see if Elena was ok; that wasn't like her. "Ok. She didn't just vanish into thin air or into space. There has to be another reason we're not getting a trail to her," Damon said, forcing his voice to remain calm and neither defensive nor offensive. "Jeremy, we know Elena was adopted. Is it possible that Addie was? That we can't find her because you guys aren't blood relatives?"

"No. Addie is definitely my sister by blood. My mom complained way too many times about getting pregnant right after having me for it to be a lie. She was born at home so it's not like there could have been a mix up in the hospital," added Jeremy, thinking of those crazy TV stories.

"Ok. Bonnie, is the blood doing _anything_?"

She sighed and nodded, "It's doing something I've never seen before. When I finish casting the spell and the blood _should_ move, it's being absorbed by the map except it's not leaving a stain or wet spot or anything. It's like it's just disappearing into the paper. I have no idea what that means. But I think it's why the spell won't work. Whether I use Jeremy or Elena's blood, it's gone before blood would usually start to move."

"If… say Addie didn't want to be found, would it still work?" postulated Jeremy.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah. The only reason I wouldn't be able to find her would be if she was in a cloaked place. I could even find her if _something _had happened."

"So she's in an invisible place?"

"I don't know. I've never tried to find someone cloaked. I wouldn't know what the locator spell should do in that case."

Damon frowned in thought. Addie's blood had dramatically changed when she learned to resist compulsion. It suddenly didn't smell overly sweet and it became nontoxic to him. Had her biology altered so much that her siblings weren't being recognized as blood relatives? It was insane but so was resisting compulsion and having poisonous blood. He moved over to the maps and held his hand out in front of Bonnie. "Try doing it with my blood."

"It works on if you're a blood relative not on how insane you are about finding her," the witch muttered.

"I know but… the way the blood is disappearing - does that mean the spell is doing something or is that just what happens when the spell doesn't work?"

Bonnie had to admit that she had no idea what the disappearing blood meant. If they used Damon's blood to try and find Addie she could at least see what happened when a spell didn't work. "Fair point. What map?"

"City," Damon concluded. "I really think the chances of her being outside Mystic Falls are slim. If we're testing for a design flaw, we might as well make things as accurate as possible."

Bonnie shifted through the maps until she had the one Damon wanted on top. Without any active thought the five candle around the map flickered with light. There were definitely perks to having the power of one hundred witches. Holding up an unfastened safety pin she asked, "What finger?" Damon held his hand out to her, his middle finger sticking straight out. "Why do I even bother to ask?" Bonnie muttered, pricking the finger. She pressed at his fingertip until a small, bright red bubble arose. Carefully, she flipped his hand over so that the blood landed over where they were on the edge of town. Another perk was no need to chant, Closing her eyes she mentally said the spell while concentrating on Addie.

"Holy shit," Jeremy said slowly as he watched Damon's blood move across the map.

"How the hell did that happen?" Bonnie questioned, staring at where the drop of blood stopped moving.

Dread filled Damon as he studied the map. "Well, I wasn't expecting that. Quick question: who thinks Klaus went back to Alaric's after escaping?"

Jeremy's neck popped with the speed that it turned so he could focus on Damon. "What?"

"My blood is on Alaric's apartment building."

* * *

**A/N: Two chapters left! Comments are greatly appreciated. **


	37. Chapter 40

Addie bounced on the falls of her feet as she anxiously waited for Katherine to open Alaric's apartment door. When he had crushed her cell phone Klaus truly cut her off from contacting anyone. Elena had the same phone number for almost five years and Jeremy had his for three but Addie never bothered to memorize them; they were always in her contacts. The only phone numbers she ever bothered to memorize were the ones she might need in the event of an emergency: her parents' cell phones, her dad's office and 911. She wasn't going to be calling anyone else if the house caught on fire or if she needed to be picked up from school. Everyone else was just a programmed number covered by a Name.

She spent three hours tearing the house apart looking for a number, any number even Jenna's. Jenna would undoubtedly give her Elena's number. Unfortunately she only found the sheet of emergency numbers her parents had taped inside a kitchen shelf when they started letting Elena watch her and Jeremy. It had all the numbers she already knew, nothing helpful. Figuring she could find almost anything on the internet she searched for both her siblings, Bonnie, Stefan, Damon, Jenna and John's numbers. How the hell did she wind up with the only group of people who didn't broadcast their phone number on the web?

Not knowing what else to do, she went to the boarding house and waited for someone to show up. When no one had by three in the morning Addie was convinced something had gone wrong. Had the ritual even happened? Was Klaus dead? Had Elena come back and turned into a vampire? What if something about doppelganger blood prevented that? No, doppelganger blood wouldn't have an impact; Katherine had transitioned just fine. Katherine, she was someone who wasn't going anywhere any time soon since she was compelled to remain at Alaric's. Unless Klaus was dead. If Klaus was dead she could leave. Of course if he wasn't dead it was likely he would return to the apartment.

Was trying to find out the status of everything worth Klaus knowing she couldn't be compelled. She ran his exact words over and over in her mind looking for a loophole that she could use as an explanation for getting caught. Klaus' words had been pretty unmistakeable - she wasn't to leave the house until _tomorrow_. He had said that before midnight, meaning he technically said it the day before. Addie was certain he had meant for her to stay there until sun up but he didn't say that. It was tomorrow. Loophole! That was how she found herself torn between wanting Katherine to open up so Addie could try to figure out what was going on or hoping that she didn't answer because she wasn't there which meant Klaus was dead. The doorknob twisted.

"You were stupid enough to come back here?" Katherine scoffed as she held the door open. "You must really have a death wish."

Addie ignored the remark, pushing pass the vampire. Suddenly she recalled, "Earlier you said you made amends with Damon. What did you mean by that?"

Katherine grimaced. Letting Damon think Addie was going to be the sacrificial vampire had probably undone any truce. She could have told Damon about Klaus having her lure Jenna but she didn't quite think that was exactly enough to kick his ass into gear. He had been so indifferent about the fact that he was going to die from the werewolf bite that she needed to find some way to light the fire in him so he would fight the effects of the poison for as long as possible. Just because she didn't know anything about a cure didn't mean his little gang of friends wouldn't find one if they were motivated enough. It was unlikely but they occasionally did something right. Damon just had to give them enough time to find a cure. It was easy to manipulate that fighting spark back into him. Damon's problem always had been and always would be that he loved too much. All she had to do was make him think Addie's life was at stake and he was back to being vengeful and a fighter. When Addie _didn't_ die, he would be even more determined to be with her after thinking he almost lost her. His love for her was possibly enough to strive off the effects of the bite for a while.

"Why does it matter?"

"Because I want to know exactly why Damon would make amends with you when you betrayed us, betrayed him," Addie related as if the reason couldn't be anymore obvious.

"He slipped me some vervain so Klaus couldn't compel me anymore," Katherine told her, sitting in the chair next to the coffee table.

"Why?"

"He wanted me to owe him a favor. I didn't know what and he didn't seem to know what he wanted either but he figured it out. Earlier today-"

"Yesterday, you mean," interrupted Addie, recalling Klaus' order.

Katherine rolled her eyes. She never really understood the majority of what Addie talked about, she wasn't about to start. "Whenever. He wanted to know the location of Klaus' werewolf and vampire to stop the ritual. With Klaus' back ups, that was obviously a useless endeavor."

Addie's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Why didn't you tell him about the back ups?"

"I knew Klaus had two witches and getting another vampire wouldn't be a problem but werewolves are pretty rare. I didn't think he had two of those."

"Can you leave the house?" Addie wondered, quickly deducing she was telling the truth and switching topics.

"Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?" sneered the vampire. "I'm compelled here!"

"My blunder. I mean, 'will you try and leave the house?'" rephrased Addie. Attitude was simply in Elena's DNA apparently.

"Klaus was pretty clear when he said I couldn't leave until he said so."

Addie nodded as she peeked through the window blinds. Would Alaric come back home once Klaus was killed? "Yeah but you don't have to listen to him if he dies, right? I mean, how does that work? If a vampire dies does every human he compelled remember suddenly or break free of the compulsion? Seems like a lot of people would be walking around in the know if that were the case. Can you imagine how many people would be affected if Damon died? And that's only counting the ones who haven't already died… from natural death, of course. The number of people he's compelled and then killed is probably higher. Or is it strictly an Original to normal vampire problem? Like you being freed when Elijah was daggered."

Huffing, Katherine crossed her arms and legs, her foot bobbing up and down impatiently, "Does Damon enjoy your pointless, annoying questions?"

"I don't know," she answered slowly, her eyes scanning the street for any unusual activity. "I know he doesn't like it when I point out something that makes no rational sense and he has no explanation or argument for it. Otherwise he doesn't seem to mind telling me anything or giving me answers."

An eyebrow raised in challenge as Katherine smirked, "Really? So he'll tell you whatever you want to know? He'll talk with you about his love for Elena? The time he spent with me?"

"He's told me before but I don't recall asking. I'd assume he would tell me anything I wanted to know about you; Damon's very candid and open about his life up until just before he turned off his humanity. He'll mention that period only in passing, really. I don't think he'd tell me the full story surrounding Elena; he'd assume I would get jealous. But why would I care about those things?" Addie asked slowly, curiously studying Katherine. "Should I care about every woman Damon's been with? That seems rather obsessive, unhealthy and far too time consuming. So why should I make exceptions and care about his past with you or Elena? Because he's admitted to _loving_ you? I'm not jealous of that nor am I looking for love from Damon."

"Then what are you looking for from him?" Katherine scowled, annoyed at so easily being dismissed.

Addie shrugged and moved to Alaric's desk. Maybe he had written down Damon or Jenna's number. "I'm not looking to get anything _from_ him. I don't like to have expectations for him. Whatever happens with Damon happens."

"You two are odd; he cares too much and you care too little."

A desire to argue against Katherine's claim welled up in Addie but she suppressed it. There was no way she was discussing her relationship with Damon with his insane, manipulative, bitchy ex-girlfriend. Addie didn't care too little for him; she cared too much. She let him slip by on things she would be appalled if anyone else did them. She let the way she felt about him cloud her judgement.

"Can you try and leave, please?" she requested dropping onto the couch.

"You don't seem to be understanding the whole compulsion concept very well," Katherine mocked, not moving.

"No, I don't. Why do you think I'm curious about compulsion effects being reversed? If I understood the whole thing I wouldn't ask," Addie bit back sharply. "You know, you could be wasting you time talking to me when you could be out of here."

"What are you up to?"

Addie scoffed bitterly, "Nothing, thanks to Klaus. Everyone else? Either trying to save Elena from becoming a vampire or trying to waste Klaus. He destroyed my cell; I haven't been able to check Facebook statuses to see what people are up to."

Katherine rolled her eyes, "You can't kill Klaus."

"Elijah believes Bonnie can."

"Didn't Klaus kill her?"

"He thinks so," Addie grinned slyly. "Klaus will begin to transition into a werewolf after he breaks the curse. Plan is for Bonnie to take him to the brink of death and Elijah finishes him off. _That's_ why I've been trying to get you to leave. You're like listening to static communication and then making out one word. You leave, he's dead. You can't, we're all screwed because I don't think anyone can stop the ritual."

"You're serious?"

Addie nodded, "As a heart attack. Though that's not exactly serious for you…."

"Well, I've had enough of this tacky apartment," Katherine declared, standing up and stretching. "Let's see if you're Bennet is as good as mine."

Addie ran her fingers through her hair as she anxiously watched Katherine move gracefully towards the door. Knowing she was being watched, Katherine opened the door slowly for dramatic effect. It was ridiculous to think that anyone could kill Klaus; she had forgotten how powerful he was and 500 years had only added to that. Still an ember of hope burned as her hand inched towards the open doorway. As quick as the hope came it left. Katherine push on a superior smirked and turned towards Addie, leaning back against the invisible barrier. She taunted, "I'd say someone screwed up."

Addie rolled her eyes and checked the clock patterned like a dart board that hung in the kitchen. It was closing in on six in the morning; Klaus should have been dead for hours. Her fingers ran through her hair again.

"You need to redo that," remarked Katherine, sitting back down.

"Huh?"

"Your hair color," the vampire enunciated. "The plum maroon is fading and growing out."

Leave it to Katherine to find fashion faults in the middle of a possible crisis. Addie gritted her teeth together and bit out, "It's purple. I don't care if it has red hues; plum maroon sounds stupid. Frankly, I don't care about the color."

"I'd say a navy blue would suit you."

"What? Trying to make me look unappealing to Damon so you can have him?" Addie snapped.

Katherine glared disapprovingly at her, "No. Damon's crazy about you; you could shave your head and he'd still be attracted to you. The original dye job was to catch his attention. Now you should do something you want. A dark burgundy, a navy blue, something like that. You… go for a cinnamon-y, copper red. It will pair nicely with - why are you still here? Klaus isn't dead. His ritual worked. You can go now."

"I want to wait for Klaus. If he was successful, who's dead? Klaus will retaliate for trying to kill him. Bonnie. Jeremy. Elijah. Stefan. Elena." Addie paused and tried to control the tremble of her voice. "Damon. How many of them are dead? I'd rather hear it from Klaus than learn on the news that their mutilated bodies have been found. If he killed them… _I_ was the one to undagger Elijah. It's just as much my fault."

"So you're waiting here to be killed?" quipped Katherine, moving to the kitchen. "That's smart. I'm sure that's what all your friends want you to do. Problem is, Klaus isn't going to kill you."

"Why not?" she frowned.

Katherine gave a loud sigh as she pulled out a can of beet juice and a can of carrot juice. The history teacher ate like a damn rabbit. "If he wanted you dead, he would have used you in the ritual. You're alive for some reason. I'd recommend being dead; it's better than anything Klaus may be planning to do with you." There was a loud clattering of pots as Katherine pulled one out from under the counter. She set it on the stove and turned on the burner.

"What am I supposed to do?" whispered Addie.

Instead of answering Katherine poured the two juices into the pot. Addie's eyes curiously followed Katherine to the bathroom where she disappeared for a minute, returning with a comb and a shower cap.

"What are you doing?"

Katherine moved the chair from the kitchen table to in front of the stove with another loud sigh. "I'm bored. You're not going anywhere. And I'm like 80% certain Damon isn't dead."

"Eighty? That means there's a one in five chance that he's dead!" Addie cried.

"Look, Klaus isn't interested in killing Damon. He'd rather see Damon suffer. Unless Damon really pissed him off, and a murder attempt doesn't count, Klaus isn't touching him." Klaus was going to let the werewolf bite take Damon but Katherine didn't see the point in sharing that with Addie. If everyone else was dead, they weren't going to find a cure to the bite. Damon should have the choice of how he would tell her, how he'd say goodbye. That didn't mean Addie couldn't get one last good picture with him. When the mixture came to a roiling boil Katherine turned off the stove. "Come sit."

"What are you doing?" Addie repeated, slowly moving towards Katherine.

The vampire pulled out a turkey baster and waved it back and forth between Addie and herself, "_We're_ coloring your hair."

"You're nuts."

"Sit!"

Addie rolled her eyes and sat in the chair; she had nothing better to do than play Katherine's games. If only she knew why Klaus was still alive. Where had the plan gone wrong? She shuddered as a stream of liquid slid under her shirt collar and down her back. "You can't color hair with juice," she mumbled.

"Really?" snorted Katherine, using the baster to transfer more of the makeshift hair dye from the pot to Addie's head. "After all this time and you still doubt me? Especially when it comes to appearances? I had thought you'd know better by now."

Addie felt the need to question, "If it's so simple and cheap that all you have to do is boil water and juice then apply to hair, why do people spend hundreds of dollars to have it professionally done? Yes, I doubt you in this."

"I never said we were going to color your hair to salon quality. What we will do is bring out the red undertones for a wash or two. It's nothing overly dramatic and is only temporary. Satisfied, Ms. Know-It-All?"

"Does my answer really matter?"

"No."

"That's what I thought," Addie mused, feeling more of the juice cocktail come into contact with her scalp. Indulging Katherine seemed harmless enough.

"You know," Katherine sighed as she combed the color through Addie's hair, "I didn't think you would end up liking Damon. You originally came to me for help in killing him. I honestly felt it was only a matter of time before one of you killed the other."

Remembering how they met Addie quipped, "There have been close enough calls. Did you actually believe putting Damon and me together would help you get Stefan back?"

"I figured once it became apparent how strong her feelings were for Damon Stefan would back off. I didn't think he'd like getting caught up in another love triangle. Then Damon screwed up my plan, like he always does, when he actually developed real feelings for you."

"You _wanted_ me to trick him into thinking he loved me. Don't blame Damon for your screw up!" Addie snapped out indignantly.

"He was supposed to think he loved; he wasn't suppose to actually love you," Katherine stressed. "Stefan didn't care how Elena might feel for Damon once he knew Damon was in love with you. I mistook his self-esteem to be higher than Damon's. I didn't expect Stefan to be content with being Elena's second choice when she obviously had feelings for Damon."

Addie popped up from the chair and spun to face Katherine, fuming, "No matter who my sister picks or picked, they're the second choice because my sister always wants it all. As soon as she was happy with Stefan, she wanted Damon. _If_ she were to ever become happy with Damon, she'd want Stefan back. She wants them both. But none of that matters because Damon wouldn't settle for being a runner-up. Your habit of underestimating Damon and viewing him as inferior to Stefan is really starting to piss me off."

Katherine nodded slightly. She had always taken Damon for granted and given him too little credit. Stefan always seemed so much stronger because his love was so much harder to earn. Damon was ruled by his emotions and love like his got you killed. That was why he was going to die from a little werewolf bite; he loved Addie so much and so freely that he gave up his life in an effort to make her happy. But his love was so honest and pure with her that it had made him into a better man.

"You're right," Katherine acknowledged, "Damon wouldn't settle for being someone's second choice. That use to be good enough but then he met you, someone who has always chosen him first. Because of you Damon knows what it feels like to be the only one for someone. He deserves that. I'm glad he found you."

Addie tensed at the sincerity in her voice. "Why would you say that? All you did was try to sleep with him from the moment you were freed. Why would you do that, try and break us apart if you were happy for him?"

Katherine sped to pile Addie's dripping hair under the shower cap before the younger girl could move away. She'd made her suspicious and needed to distract her. Katherine was back where she had stood on the other side of the chair before Addie could blink. She pointed at Addie hair and instructed, "Let the juice sit as long as possible for best results. And you seriously have to ask that? Do you not see how irresistible your own boyfriend is? I mean the sex with Damon was always great. Add almost 150 years of more experience and that hot, edgier attitude? I'd be stupid to not try and get with him again. And, admit it; you're more confident in him and his feelings knowing that I wasn't able to seduce him."

"Pretty sure I remain as certain of Damon as I did before you almost got him killed in order to free yourself. You see, Damon's a little more complex than you're giving him credit for. You just don't do it for him anymore. It's no wonder why after all the betrayal, games and abuse you put him through," sneered Addie. frustrated. She didn't like Katherine talking about Damon. She screwed with him too many times. Addie moved back to the living room, wanting to distance herself from the vampire. She slumped back into the couch wondering, "How long do I have to leave this stuff on?"

"Until I say so."

"Of course," Addie mumbled under her breath. For over an hour Addie sat on the couch, staring at the door. She never thought she would eagerly be waiting Klaus' arrival. If the curse had been broken, Klaus would have turned into a werewolf but it was bright and sunny out at half past nine. The full moon had set and he should have returned to being a vampire. If that was the case, there was no reason for him to have not returned. "What were Klaus' plans after he broke the curse?"

"To start his own line of hybrids," Katherine replied after a moment. She knew that wasn't answering the question Addie was really asking but there was no need to tell her that Klaus was probably out reeking havoc and chaos. "Come on," she decided, heading for the bathroom. "Let's rinse the juice off and see what happened."

When Addie followed the vampire into the restroom, she was instructed to kneel in front of the bathtub and to hang her head the ledge. From the corner of her eyes she watched Katherine turn on the tap and unmount the removable showerhead. After waiting a minute for it to warm up, Addie felt the water rushing over her head. She screwed her eyes shut as bright red liquid began to flow from her hair and and swirl around the tub. It reminded her too much of blood. How much blood of her friends and family had Klaus spilled? Her eyes opened again when she heard the water shut off. Her vision darkened for a moment as Katherine draped a towel over her hair and used it to absorb as much water as she could.

"Alright," Katherine sighed, discarding the towel on the floor. She turned towards the counter and plugged in the blow dryer it had taken hours of pleading and whining with Klaus to convince him that she needed it. "Time to dry it and see the results."

Not for the first time Addie wondered what had possessed her to go along with Katherine's idea. Though she could see what Katherine had meant about picking up the red hues. Section by section her hair dried looking somewhere in between mahogany and maroon. Katherine was almost done when she suddenly shut off the blow dryer. In the mirror Addie's deep blue eyes connected with her big brown ones, wide and startled.

"He's back," Katherine whispered, an anxious tone to her voice.

Quickly, Addie exited the bathroom and rushed back to the living room, ready to demand an explanation of what had happened. She gasped in shock when she collided with a solid chest with arm wrapped around her, crushing her to it. A hug was not the reaction she had anticipated from Klaus. But Klaus didn't smell like ginger and cloves and sandalwood.

"Damon," Addie breathed in a quiet relief, her eyes beginning to water. As soon as she moved to hug him back he was already pulling away.

"What the hell are you doing here? Do you not know how to answer a simple phone call? Hell, I would have settled for a text. You go missing to come to Klaus' lair? Have you lost your damn mind?" Damon rattled off angrily as he held Addie's shoulders, peering down into her face. "You know the only thing that I've thought since I found out you were here? That I was going to show up and find your body. I thought you were dead, Ads."

Addie opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to decide between being upset with him for yelling at her versus not caring about anything other than him being alive. She finally asked, "How did you know I was here?"

He looked at her incredulously. Klaus could come back at any moment and she was worried about how he had found her. "I had to have Bonnie do a locator spell. Do you have any idea how concerned everyone has been? We're going," Damon ordered, taking her by the wrist. "Now."

"I can honestly say that I did not expect to see you again," Katherine remarked, leaning against the wall.

Addie's head whipped around as she hissed, "You told me you were 80% sure he wasn't dead."

"Only 80%? Your never ending faith in me never ceases to astound." Damon quipped, glaring at Katherine in warning. It didn't seem she had told Addie of his bite; he didn't need her doing that.

The vampire held up her hands innocently, "I didn't lie to you. I just never said that I thought he was going to stay alive."

"Wha-" Addie started in confusion when she felt Damon pull at her wrist.

"Yes, yes. I surely would have done something stupid to piss Klaus off once he showed up and killed Addie. How about we leave before he shows up and that happens?" he snapped, leading Addie to the door. "I wouldn't recommend trying to fight with me about this," warned Damon when she gave him a hard look as he held the door open.

While she didn't appreciate him ordering around, Damon was right about Klaus killing them. She had only even come to find out about the ritual and what happened. Damon would answer all of her questions. Nodding she headed out the door.

"What were you thinking, Addie? Why would you not answer anyone?" asked Damon sharply as he lead the way out of the building and to his car.

"Klaus took my phone," Addie defended. "Actually, he crushed it, like literally broke it into pieces. He didn't want me contacting anyone. He didn't want me to warn you guys that he was coming. Well, I couldn't warn you anyways as you were knocked out since you were stupid enough to show up at his house and offer up your own life after releasing Tyler and Caroline. I thought we agreed that you wouldn't screw with his plans. That you wouldn't do something stupid to get yourself killed."

Damon frowned as he held open the car door for her. "I never agreed to anything. You _could_ thank me, you know. If I hadn't done that Caroline would be dead, too."

Addie froze in the midst of buckling her seat belt. Her voice was faint as she nervously asked, "Too? Who's dead?"

Instead of answering he leaned and took the seat belt from her and fastened it. He brushed a light kiss against her cheek.

"Who's dead?" Addie repeated as Damon started the car.

"Why were you at Klaus'?" Damon countered.

"Technically it's Alaric's apartment. Klaus is just invading it. After Klaus knocked you out he took me home. He compelled me to go straight to my room and to not leave the house until today. At least he tried to compel me. After that I couldn't exactly let him see me out of the house if I wanted to keep our secret. I didn't have my phone so I didn't have any numbers to contact anyone. I thought about going to the witch house but I wouldn't have been able to find it. The boardinghouse seemed the most likely place you guys would turn up after everything. I waited there until three in the morning. No one had come back and I figured something must have gone wrong. How was I supposed to find out though? I didn't fancy waiting until the news broadcast that they found your mutilated bodies. So I went to go see Katherine; if she could leave it meant you guys killed Klaus." Addie paused in her story to look over at Damon critically; his grip on the steering wheel turned his knuckles white and his claw was clenched. Knowing the answer Addie still asked, "Why can't Katherine leave?"

Damon glowered, remembering what Stefan and Bonnie told him. "Next time I say don't trust someone, how about you, I don't know, not trust them? Don't let the full plan of killing the bad guy hinge on the the cooperation of the other bad guy."

"Elijah?" Addie said slowly, her eyebrows furrowing together.

"Yep. Bonnie had Klaus weak enough that Elijah jabbed his hand into Klaus, grabbed his heart and then the two disappeared. So now Klaus is a free hybrid that we are never going to be able to kill."

There had never been any traces of deception from Elijah. He had been telling the truth about wanting to kill Klaus. Something had to have made him change his mind. "What else happened?" demanded Addie. "Elijah wanted to kill Klaus. Why did he change his mind?"

"Ask Bonnie or Stefan; they were there. I was taking Elena back to the witch house. Or you could just accept that he was playing you the whole time," Damon quipped. He carried on before Addie could protest about Elijah being good. "Speaking of your sister, you'll be glad to know that she is _not_ a vampire."

"What? That's not… she chose not to transition? She's dead?" asked Addie hoarsely, her voice catching and cracking as tears came to her eyes again.

Mentally Damon slapped himself. He needed to learn to watch his wording around her. Or at least mind his words for the next day or so, however long he had left. He quickly made to reassure her, "No, no. Elena's fine; she's alive and human. I finished reading the Gilbert journal; there was a way to save Elena from death."

"Really?" she said in quiet awe.

Damon briefly turned to her and winked with a flirtatious smile. "I told you I'd find a way to save your sister." If only he had finished reading before rushing off to free Klaus' werewolf.

Speechless, Addie stammered, "I-I-I… You did it. You really did it. You saved her. How?"

"Your uncle did the actual saving; I just told him how. I promise I'll tell you when we get you home, ok?" he answered with a weak smile, gently squeezing her knee.

"You mean my home?" she asked curiously when he took a right turn as opposed to his usual left.

Damon knew what the werewolf bite would do to him; he'd watch it happen to Rose. Losing his mind, hallucinating the past, attacking people, attacking Addie wasn't an option for him. He knew what he had to do; Addie couldn't be around for that. "Well, Elijah has been invited into both places, meaning neither place is safer than the other on that front. We know what Klaus looks like so nobody is going to accidentally invite him in. Y-"

"Does he's still need an invitation even if he's a werewolf now?"

"He's still a vampire so my guess is yes."

Addie was quiet for several long minutes, speaking up only when they turned onto her street. "He used Jules as his werewolf." Damon nodded in confirmation as he parked in front of the Gilbert residence. "His vampire?" He got out to open her door without acknowledging her question. Climbing out of the car Addie ran through the list of vampires, "Caroline was freed. We were with Katherine. Thankfully you're alive. Damon, he… he… Stefan?"

"Stefan is fine," Damon sighed, leading her into the house, "not for a lack of trying to get Klaus to use him."

"Why would he do that?"

"He was fixing my mistake," he answered, evading the full truth. Taking her by the hand they went up the stairs.

Insistently she pressed, "Who did he use? Who did he kill? Who's dead?"

At the top of the stairs Damon halted and turned to her, "Do you want to see Elena?"

"No, I want to know who Klaus killed," she snapped.

"Jeremy?"

"Jeremy?" she cried in horror, tears instantly falling.

There he went again with poor word choice. Urgently he hushed her, wiping the stream of tears, "No, no, no. He's fine, Addie. Jeremy's ok. I was asking if you wanted to see him. Bonnie, too. Everyone's here; everyone's been worried about you."

"No!" she snapped, feeling foolish for bursting into tears. "I don't want to see anyone. I just want to know who Klaus killed."

"OK," he agreed quietly, knowing he couldn't keep it from her for forever. "I'll tell you but I have to let everyone know you're ok first. You've had us all scared senseless."

"No," objected Addie, pulling Damon towards her room. "You're going to tell me who Klaus killed _now._"

He pulled out his phone to send a text to Elena while Addie fumbled with her keys, unlocking her bedroom door. Damon followed her into the room, slipping his phone back into his pocket before shutting and locking the door behind him. She turned and looked at him expectantly but he took her by the elbow and took her to sit by him on the bed. Addie cleared her throat impatiently when he didn't immediately start to speak. Stalling, Damon kicked off his shoes and pushed himself to lean back against her headboard.

"Will you just tell me already?" sighed Addie, knowing she wouldn't like his answer.

Damon frowned before patting the spot next to him. She rolled her eyes. "Humor me." She didn't move. He shrugged carelessly. "Fine, don't but know that I'm not saying anything until I get to hold you."

"Blackmail is illegal," she muttered, removing her shoes and scooting next to him.

"I'm fairly certain most things I do count as illegal," he scoffed, draping one arm around her shoulders. "And most of those things are far worse than blackmail. You think I'm gonna start caring about the rules now over something so minor?"

"It doesn't matter that it's me who you're blackmailing?"

"Oooo, you're good," smirked Damon, kissing her temple. "Trying to use my feelings for you to get me to see the light and conform to being good, very manipulative. You know, hanging around me seems to be corrupting you."

Addie laughed, resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping an arm around his waist. "It's possible. I only use the negative things you teach me against you, though. You're just all around evil to everyone. And I'll only use your feelings for me to get my way. You should know by now that I don't expect or want you to change."

"Yep," Damon muttered darkly. "You take my flaws and turn them into beauty."

"I would hardly call it that."

"You make them permissible or excuse them away or, my personal favorite, completely ignore them."

"You make it seem like a bad thing. Would you prefer I go back to hating you and everything you do?"

It would make letting her go, losing her forever if she did hate him. Damon snorted humorlessly, "Wouldn't that just be so much easier?" He had forgotten how painful, pointless, and overrated love was.

Placing a hand softly against his cheek Addie turned to look up at Damon. "Hating you would make my life a lot less confusing. So many things would just go back to being right or wrong, black or white; with you I live in a world of grey. But going back to hating would be one of the most difficult things I'd ever do. You've done so many things to the people I love that I should hate you for. I should hate you for using Caroline, almost killing Bonnie, killing my brother, forcing Elena to drink your blood. We'd be here forever if I listed every reason I should hate you for what you have done to me but I have either excused them or ignored them. I don't even know why you went and screwed with Klaus' plan and put your life on the line when I told you that would hurt me far more than Elena turning into a vampire but I already forgive you for it because I'm just happy you're alive and with everything going on, I'm tired of being mad at you. Apart from killing those I consider my family, recklessly getting yourself killed is the greatest way you could possibly hurt me. You did almost exactly that and I _still_ can't hate you. So no, Damon, hating you would be anything but easier."

He winced slightly, knowing his actions the previous night would hurt her far more than she was aware of. "Say I did actually get myself killed for screwing with Klaus' plan, would it be easier for you to hate me? I would have hurt you in the two most painful ways then: letting you think I let Bonnie go kill herself trying to defeat Klaus and dying."

"But you didn't kill Bonnie or let her get killed and you haven't stupidly gotten yourself killed; you haven't hurt me like that. I can't possibly tell you if it would be easier for me to hate you if those things had happened."

"I made John die," Damon lied quietly, carefully watching for her reaction. His death would be far less painful for her if she did hate him. Outright repulsion, rather than confusion, was what he had intended. Sighing he clarified, "The Gilbert journal basically spoke of a spell where a mother died to bring her child back to life. I told John about it; I made him die so Elena wouldn't turn into a vampire." A small flare of satisfaction burned in him as her face turned red, her lips pinched and her eyes flickered with rage and tears.

Addie sucked in a quivering breath and nervously checked, "John's dead?" Damon nodded. "You found a way to save Elena from becoming a vampire at the cost of John's life?" Swallowing hard Damon nodded again. Tears began to slowly flow but she shook her head and raged, "You didn't kill John. He's just another person that died for my sister. My mom, my dad, now John. I suppose Jeremy will be next."

"John wasn't going to die to save Elena," Damon lied again. "Elena was going to come back as a vampire; that was enough for John. He didn't agree to die for Elena until I threatened to kill you." He couldn't help but feel satiated as Addie pulled away from him in shock and horror.

"You're lying," Addie uttered in revulsion. "John would have died to stop Elena from coming back as the thing he hated most; he wasn't that selfish with his life."

Damon shrugged, "I know you want to think better of him but that's not true."

"It _is _true," she maintained. "I _know_ you're lying to me, Damon. I can sense you giving off a negative energy. You're trying to deceive me. Why are you trying to convince me that you blackmailed John into dying?"

Under his breath Damon swore. He forgot about her being able to sense major duplicity; he always got away with the little white lies or partial truths he told. He sneered, "You really think I'm trying to trick you because you claim to sense some energy? I think you don't want to accept the truth.

"I _don't _want to accept the truth; I _don't_ want to accept that you're lying to me but you are!" she exclaimed. "Damon, I haven't felt any darkness from you since you convinced me to help you free Katherine by saying she was good. Why are you lying to me now?"

"I'm not," he maintained.

"Either stop lying and tell me why you feel the need for deception all of a sudden or leave," Addie hissed through gritted teeth. Shock and awe filled her as she watched Damon move to put on his shoes. Grabbing at his upper arm she softly beseeched, "Please, Damon, please just tell me why you're doing this."

Brushing her off he stood and purposefully misinterpreted, "I'm leaving because I don't feel like being falsely accused of lying. I just want you to know the truth." With his hand on the doorknob he casually added as an afterthought, "Speaking of the truth, you should know that Klaus lured Jenna out the same way he did you and used her as the vampire in the ritual."

* * *

Sighing impatiently Jeremy hit at Addie's door more insistently with their secret knock of three quick raps, two slow knocks, and finally two fast taps for the fifth time. No movement could be heard from within the room. "Addie, open the door," he demanded loudly, jiggling the locked doorknob again.

"She won't open," Elena sighed, exiting her room and approaching Jeremy. "I spent half of last night trying to get her to," she informed him as she straightened his tie.

Jeremy rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck as apologetically said, "No offense, Elena, but Addie would never open the door for you. She… well, you know how she kind of twists things around in her mind. To her, John's death is your fault and I'm guessing so is Jenna's."

"Jer, I-"

He held up a hand to cut her off and continued to gingerly talk, "I know it's not your fault but Addie thinks differently. She's never stopped blaming you for Mom and Dad and that was just a car accident they had picking you up from somewhere Addie didn't think you should be. John sacrificed his life so you could remain human; there's no way she isn't blaming you for that. And if you weren't the doppelganger, Klaus wouldn't have been picking our family to harass and Jenna never would have been used in the ritual. I'm not blaming you for any of this but I'm trying to get you to see it from Addie's perspective. Yes, she's overly rational 90% of the time but when she does feel her emotions make her highly irrational."

"I know," Elena whispered, watching Jeremy try the handle again. She couldn't entirely blame Addie for being mad and blaming her as she didn't entirely disagree. While she knew she was being irrational, Elena couldn't help but feel partially responsible for the deaths of John and Jenna. For the deaths of the last two vaguely authoritative figures Addie had left.

"Do you have a bobby pin I can borrow?"

She nodded but pointed out, "When has that actually worked?"

They both knew the answer to that: never. However, he had to do something. Addie had been locked up in her room since Damon had brought her back from Alaric's. He never did explain why Addie had been there, just that she was ok. What if she was more upset about Jenna and John than they thought? What if something had happened with Klaus that was making her shut herself up?

"Where are you going?" he asked his older sister incredulously as she headed towards the stairs. They couldn't just go to the funeral and leave Addie locked in her room.

"I'm getting Damon," Elena answered before disappearing.

Jeremy knocked again a he felt a pang of guilt and envy. It had always been that if Addie was going to open up and talk to anybody it would be him, her protective, loving big brother. It was awful knowing that he wasn't the person she would most likely turn to anymore.

The vampire appeared moments later. Damon waved his hand for Jeremy to move aside before he reached for the doorknob and forced it to turn, effectively breaking the lock. The teen stared at him in disbelief. "You're the one who wanted in," he retorted, turning back towards the stairs.

"If she's going to talk to anyone it's going to be you," Jeremy called after him.

A few steps down Damon froze at the words before he curtly replied, "No, she won't."

"Yes," insisted Jeremy. "You're the one who knows her best now. You're the one who comes to her rescue. You're the one she turns to when something is wrong."

"Not anymore," Damon retorted bitterly. He couldn't be that guy for Addie anymore, no matter how badly he wanted to. He was going to die and he had to make it as easy as possible for her to get over that. "But I do know that you are not convincing her to go to the funeral."

"Someone has to try."

Damon snorted humorlessly, "Kid, she didn't go to her own parents' funeral and she doesn't regret it one bit. You think she's going to come to this one?"

"She didn't go to my parents' because it was open casket. This one isn't," Jeremy shrugged. "She'll come."

"That's only part of why your sister didn't go. It's quite easy to attend a funeral without going near the body. Addie didn't go then and will not go now because she doesn't know how to handle and accept death or goodbyes," explained Damon, a touch of bitterness in his voice. "Why do you think she finds it so easy to blame Elena?"

* * *

Jeremy knocked on Addie's door as best he could while still holding the plate with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a glass of chocolate milk. The door creaked open a bit due to the broken doorknob. Loudly he called, "If you don't say anything I'm coming in." When he didn't hear a response after thirty seconds Jeremy used his elbow to push the door open enough for him to get in. The curtains were drawn and the room was dark. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust but when he did he still only saw a mound in the bundle of a blanket.

"I brought you your favorite: chocolate milk and pb&amp;j," he said, setting the plate and glass on the nightstand. He watched the blanket closely for any sign of stirring. Sighing, he sat on the edge of the bed and urged, "Come out and eat, Addie. You haven't eaten in almost three full days. I know you're hungry." There was still no reaction.

"You know," Jeremy snapped in frustration, beginning to pull at the blanket, "you're been really inconsiderate and selfish, Addison. First you go off and disappear to Klaus', then you couldn't be bothered to go to Jenna and John's funeral, and you don't even give a response any time I try to reach out to you. Do you know how much that scares me? A lot because you have a tendency to really rash and stupid things when you're hurting. How am I supposed to know you haven't done something incredibly stupid, like hurt yourself, if I'm getting no response?"

Finally he was able to shift the blankets enough to see Addie's tear stained face. Her eyes were closed but Jeremy knew she was awake. He carefully brushed her hair away from her face and said, "At least you're alive. Are you going to talk to me now?" No response. From his pocket Jeremy fished out an old cellphone and placed it on his sister's forehead, hoping to invoke an annoyed reaction but was unsuccessful. "I activated an old phone of mine. Damon told me that yours broke and that's why we couldn't reach you."

"You can be a stubborn pain in the ass," he muttered after nearly fifteen minutes of silence. There was no witty defense like he hoped for. "I guess you're off the hook for going to see the stupid movie in the town square? You going to be ok home alone?" Addie didn't respond. Jeremy poked the tip of her nose hoping to get a reaction but had no luck. "Ad, can you at least acknowledge me so I know you're ok?"

After a long moment Addie curtly answered, "I'm not ok. Nothing is _ok_. Why do you want me to act like everything is? You want me to ignore the fact that we just lost the last to members of our family because of Elena, _again_? Have you stopped and considered what happens now that we don't have a legal guardian?"

"I don't want you to act like our lives aren't screwed. That's what Elena's doing with this stupid movie night thing. But you shouldn't be locking yourself up in this room dwelling on all the negative crap that's been thrown at us. You did that when Mom and Dad passed and it nearly destroyed you. We both handled their deaths pretty poorly," conceded Jeremy, recollecting his drug-using delinquent phase.

Addie knocked the phone Jeremy had placed on her head off with annoyance and pushed herself up slightly on her elbows. Her eyes narrowed angrily and she scowled, "So now we're suppose to act like experts in handling death? Jenna and John - they - their deaths…"

An acute pain resided in Jeremy's chest as he watched his little sister begin to cry. He wasn't sure if he preferred all the anger and rage she displayed at their parents' passing or the fountain of grieving tears. Neither option was appealing as he knew his sister had to be in extreme pain to get as angry as she had been or to bring her to tears.

"No," he answer, "we don't act like experts. I don't think there is an expert way to react. But I know we need to go about our lives; John and Jenna wouldn't want us putting our lives on hold to mourn them. We need to breath, eat, sleep, wake up and do it all over again until one day it's just not as hard anymore. We can't let grief consume us or take control of us like it did before."

"You go ahead and do that," Addie quipped back. "I'm going to take the easy way out and wallow in despair because continuing to go about our lives knowing no one is there for us is just too much for me."

"We still have each other, Addie. You, me, and Elena. We all have to stick together and watch out for each other. We haven't lost all our family. As long as we're together we will be fine," Jeremy insisted, uncertain of whether he was trying to convince Addie or himself.

"You honestly believe we're going to stay together in the foster system?" Addie bitterly scoffed.

Firmly, Jeremy stated, "That's not happening; we're not going into the system. It's already been discussed with Elena and Stefan. If we don't report Jenna's death then nobody knows we don't have a guardian so nobody is going to be asking questions about where John is to make him our guardian. When Elena turns 18 she can become our legal guardian. Stefan might have to compel a judge into believing it's a good idea, though."

"So we're just going to pretend they never died? How fucked up is that? Not to mention stupid! They were buried in the family plot. If anyone goes out to the cemetery two new graves are going to be very obvious! Then how long is it going to take someone to figure out who is in those graves when Jenna and John can't be found?" questioned Addie. Rolling her eyes she pulled the blanket back over her head and turned away from Jeremy. She was done talking. Their plan to avoid the foster system was full of holes. Of course they wouldn't even need a plan if Elena hadn't gotten John and Jenna killed. Addie couldn't think of how things could become any worse.

* * *

Loud, screaming _music_ played for the third consecutive time. For the third time Addie scowled at the cellphone emitting the noise and only bothered pressing ignore to stop the god awful ringtone. She would have thought Elena knew that Addie wanted nothing to do with her but she apparently hadn't. She hadn't gotten the message from the previous two times Addie had ignored her call. The obnoxious ringtone started again and Addie cursed under her breath as she made to ignore the call again. The name on the caller ID was different, making her falter. Damon was calling.

Addie stared at the phone as she tried to quickly sort out how she felt about him calling. His lying and deception had not only confused her but it had really pissed her off; she hadn't thought he would try and hide stuff from her anymore. However, he was still the only person she had any semblance of desire to see or talk to. Perhaps he was calling to explain why he had lied. She answered with a curt, "Yes?"

Shock and fury ran through her as she heard Elena's voice. "You need to go to the boardinghouse _now_," instructed her sister.

Addie pulled the phone away from her ear to end the call but the frantic, urgent tone from her sister made her reconsider. Pressing to the receiver back into place she could vaguely make out the words of her sister arguing with someone.

"I don't care how much you beg; I'm telling her." There was a brief pause where Addie couldn't make out the other voice. "She deserves to know, Damon. You should have told her to begin with!"

"Why do I need to go?" asked Addie, wondering what her sister was doing with Damon. Hadn't she gone to see the movie in the park? Addie couldn't exactly imagine Damon going to that. And what did Elena think she deserved to know?

"You just - damn it, Damon! Stop trying to take the phone! You're going to get us killed. I can't drive, fight you off and talk on the phone at the same time," Elena snapped loudly, making Addie hold the cell away from her ear.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Damon's _really_ sick. Just meet us at the house, we're almost there."

Addie couldn't resist rolling her eyes at this. "He's a vampire; vampires don't get sick."

"This time he's sick," her sister snipped. "He bit me. He was hallucinating and thought I was Katherine. He showed up in the town square looking and asking for you. But now he seems to have regained some of his sanity and is back to not wanting you to know he's sick."

At this Addie balked, "He fed on you?"

Elena sighed in frustration, "It wasn't like that. Look, it's been a really crazy night. Can you just listen to me for once and go to the house? For Damon?"

"Doesn't sound like Damon wants me there," she answered dryly, despite already moving to her clothes.

"Addison May Gilbert, I am your sister and I'm just looking out for you! Get your ass to the house or you are going to regret your decision for the rest of your life," Elena said loudly, talking over Damon's protests.

Before Addie could make a smart retort Elena hung up. As she got dressed and took two minutes to brush her teeth she reflected on what her sister had said. It didn't make any sense for Damon to be sick; he was a vampire. Why would he have been looking for her and then change his mind? More interesting was the fact that he bit Elena and he was hallucinating Katherine.

In the dark words Addie followed the familiar path that she often ran between her house and Damon's. As she walked she tried to rationalize Damon's peculiar behavior. He had mentioned a period of recreational drug use to her a few times. Was it possible that he had taken some kind of drug? It would explain the hallucinations. While he didn't hide many things from her, Addie definitely felt he would hide drug use from her. When he was under the effects of the drug he may have wanted to see her but as it was wearing off he came to remember that he didn't want her to know. That explained what Elena said about her deserving to know and his change of mind about seeing her. Was it possible for a vampire to have a drug overdose, making it seem like Damon was sick?

As Addie inserted her key into the old lock, she decided it must have been drug use that was causing everything. Closing the door behind her she called out, "Elena? Damon?"

"Hey," Elena greeted as she descended the stairs. Relief was obvious in her face and voice. "I wasn't sure you'd come."

"I'm not here to talk to you," Addie hissed back her eyes narrowing in anger. "I'm here to find out what's wrong with Damon."

Elena caught her sister by the shoulder as she made to push past her. "Addie," she started gently before Addie shook her off.

"I don't want to hear _anything_ from you. Unless you want to get into another fist fight I suggest you leave me alone," snapped Addie, starting her climb up the stairs.

Elena snorted humorlessly, "So this is really how you're going to be? You're really going to blame me? Turns out you haven't grown up at all in nearly a full year."

"Would John and Jenna be alive if you were never born? Yeah. Same thing goes for Mom and Dad. You had to go to the party when you should have been home for the last family game night before Dad and I moved out. You had to get into a fight with Matt. You had to be picked up. If you hadn't done any of that Mom and Dad never would have been on that bridge. You just had to have the supernatural boyfriend who has a psychotic ex that stalks him. If you hadn't been with Stefan, he wouldn't have stayed in Mystic Falls. If he didn't stay here Katherine never would have spied on him and found the precious doppelganger. If Katherine never found you word wouldn't have gotten to Klaus about you. If Klaus never showed up he never would have taken Jenna and John wouldn't have had to give up his life for you to keep yours," Addie ranted in a low, threatening voice. "It's _you_, Elena. Everyone around you dies for _you_. Excuse me if you're offended that I'm choosing to distance myself from you before I become the next casualty."

Elena shook her head as she watched Addie go up the stairs. Jeremy was right; there was no reasoning with her when she was emotional. Her accusations, at least about John and Jenna, had so many logical flaws. For example, if Damon hadn't fed Elena his blood she would have been able to use the potion and John never would have died…. Or John still would have given up his life because the potion wasn't a sure thing. The blame for Jenna, though, couldn't be put on her in any way unless she was being judged by her sister.

For a minute Addie stood in the open doorway studying Damon, who lay prone on the bed. He was too far away for her to make out any feature. Addie knocked gently on the door.

"Get out," croaked Damon his voice raspy and hoarse.

Addie closed the door and walked closer to him. He was far paler than usual and strands of hair stuck to his sweaty forehead. "You've never told me to get out until these past few days."

"And you still haven't gotten the message. Get out," he repeated more sternly.

"Mmm...I'm sensing that you want me to go," Addie said slowly with fake uncertainty.

Damon fell in a loud, wet sounding coughing fit. He grimaced at the bright red blood that speckled his palm before wiping it onto his pants. "You powers of perception are astounding. _Go._"

Addie continued on as if she hadn't heard him, "But I think I'm going to stay until I figure out what's going on."

"Elena didn't tell you?" he muttered defeatedly.

"I kinda don't want to be the next person to die in her name so we're not talking at the moment."

Damon chuckled darkly, "Trust me, you're not the next one to die. Now go before I hurt you."

Addie looked Damon over critically and prepared herself to make a quick dodge. "You won't hurt me, Damon." Just as she predicted, he flashed to her. Damon looked at his hands in confusion when he only grabbed air. Addie had just barely made it out of Damon's way, moving the instant she saw his leg twitch with motion. From a foot to the left of him she observed, "You're obviously pretty messed up if I can dodge you. I don't think you'll be hurting me any time soon." Seeing him sway dangerously, Addie quickly wrapped his arm around her shoulders and curled her arm around his waist. "Come on. Back to bed to for you. I don't fancy the idea of you falling and cracking your head open."

"I hurt Elena," Damon remarked, allowing her to help him back to the bed.

Addie's lips pursed in distaste as she stood in front of Damon once she had him sitting on the edge of the bed. Sourly she retorted, "I know. I'm oddly bothered that you chose to suck _her_ blood."

"I thought she was Katherine."

Giving him a pinched smile she sweetly said, "I don't know if I feel any better about that."

"I was hallucinating her," he muttered as he moved to lie on his side, his legs still dangling off the side. "I thought it was 1864 again and it was when I… doesn't matter."

"Why were you hallucinating?" she tried to ask nonchalantly while she heaved his legs onto the bed.

Damon groaned as he felt the bed dip on Addie's side. She really shouldn't be near him; he could slip back into having haunting visions of his past at any moment. But he could feel the heat radiating off of her as she lay next to him. Unconsciously he rolled to face her and pulled her to him. Damon buried his face in the crook of her neck and draped a leg over hers. He was just so cold but Addie, she was like his own, personal heater.

Addie sighed and let him curl up against her. She could be mad at him when whatever drugs he was on wore off and he'd actually be aware of her anger. When she brushed the hair off his forehead to kiss him she noticed something. Dumbfounded she stated, "You're hot. Like _human_ hot."

"Must be the fever because I'm cold as hell," he mumbled.

"Hell is hot," Addie corrected automatically. "And a fever? You're a vampire. How much drugs does it take to make a vampire run a fever?"

Damon opened his eyes slowly, his eyelashes brushing against her neck. "What are you talking about?"

"Seriously, Damon? You're going to try and deny it when I see you like this? Give me some credit."

Slowly he realized, "You think I'm on drugs?"

"No, I think you suddenly got the flu," she answered sarcastically.

Damon's hand trembled as he pulled the sleeve of his left arm up to his elbow. He heard Addie inhale sharply as his forearm was bared. Where Tyler had bit him his arm was almost black. From there dark veins and arteries spiraled out against flaming red flesh.

"Tell me that's what your arm is suppose to look like after you shoot up crack," Addie whispered, gingerly taking his wrist and moving his arm so she could get a closer look.

Softly Damon gave a short laugh. He was the devil who ended up with the pure angel. "You smoke crack, Ads."

"Then tell me this is what your arm is suppose to look like when shoot up whatever kinds of drugs you inject," she snapped back, her pitch higher than usual.

Weakly Damon lifted his head so it lay next to hers. He watched her studying his arm, her face pale and lips pinched thin. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I am so sorry, love. You begged me not to mess with Klaus' plan. You begged me not to get myself killed and that's exactly what I did." Guilt flooded through him as he watched her lips twitch and eyes beginning to water.

"No," Addie died firmly, shaking her head. "You didn't get yourself killed. You're fine. You're ok. This is… it's just a scratch, It's nothing."

Despite the searing pain that shot through his arm, Damon gently caressed her cheek. He knew she would have trouble accepting his fate. "It's a werewolf bite. Tyler started transitioning sooner than I thought he would. He went to attack Caroline and I got in the middle. We tussled and he accidentally bit me."

"Well, you're going to be fine then. He wasn't in wolf form when he bit you; he was only transitioning. It's like you have an infected wound; we just need to wait for your immune system to kick in. You'll be better in no time," insisted Addie. Damon wouldn't die. Damon couldn't die. He was indestructible.

"That's not how it works," he sighed, gently pressing her cheek in an encouragement for her to face him. Addie turned onto her side so they lay chest to chest. Damon pulled his sleeve back down before wrapping his arm around her waist, holding her close. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm sorry that we didn't have more time together. I'm-"

Addie placed a finger over his lips, silencing him. "We are going to have _years_ together. We'll spend so much time together that we get sick of each other," she declared looking him in the eye. His eyes seemed brighter, bluer contrasting against his pale pallor. She refused to accept that Damon was going to die.

"Ads, please, let's not waste the time we have left."

"We have ye-"

Damon cut her off sharply, trying to make her see reason, "I have hours left, Addison. And as much as I hate to say this, you either need to accept that I'm dying or you need to leave. You know when I'm lying. Tell me, am I lying right now?"

Addie screwed her eyes shut against the tears. There was no negative vibe, no darkness coming from him. There had been a darkness the last time they were together though. "This is why you were lying to me about John, isn't it?"

A wave of pain crashed down on Damon; it felt like all his muscles were contracting while being repeatedly stabbed. He groaned loudly in pain, His arm around her waist pulled her closer as he instinctively tried to curl in on himself. Addie's hand was on his face as she whispered soothing words of comfort. It was difficult to make out what she was saying as his mind was too absorbed in the pain but he could sense her there. He tried to focus on her and just her. Addie was here with him, and that meant he had to make his passing looking as comfortable as possible. He wouldn't leave her with memories of him in pain.

Slowly the pain began to ebb away. "Yes," Damon answered, his breathing shallow and labored.

"You wanted me to hate you so I wouldn't care if you died," accused Addie. That was why he had been asking so many questions about what it would take for her to hate him. He tried to place the blame of John's death on himself so she'd detest him for killing one of her family members.

He closed his eyes tiredly and sluggishly answered, "I knew you'd care. Thought it would be easier if you were angry."

"You are such an idiot," Addie sniffled, fighting back tears. "Nothing makes losing you any easier." The tears overcame her and began to flow. "How could you keep this from me? You were just going to let me find out from Elena that you….'' she trailed off, unable to say Damon's fate. "Everyone I've ever lost I never had a chance to say goodbye to; how could you rob me of that with you?"

"It's too painful, too hard to lose you. To know that I had the greatest thing possible and now i'm losing it for being stupid," he replied, his words slurred and slowed.

Addie wanted to agree; she wanted to blame him for going out and rescuing her friend. "You weren't being stupid," insisted Addie, letting her hand brush away the hair that clung to his hot and clammy forehead. He was getting worse; he was even warmer than before. "You save Caroline and Tyler from Klaus. You threw yourself in front of her to protect her from him. You were being a hero."

"I was being selfish; I shouldn't have been out there. I've made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die."

"No!" Addie exclaimed quietly. She cupped Damon's cheek, slightly sticky from a thin layer of sweat and firmly stated, "You don't deserve to die, Damon. You've made mistakes but death isn't a punishment you deserve."

Damon's muscles protested in pain as he brought his hand up and laid it over Addie's. Slowly he moved her hand from his so he could interlace his fingers with hers, resting their hands on the pillow just below their chins. She was desperate and scared; he had to make sure she was ok before he passed. It was a struggle to open his eyes but the desire to look into those beautiful, deep blue eyes one more time gave him the motivation he needed. "I do, Ads. It's okay 'cause if I'd chosen differently, I wouldn't have met you, the greatest thing to ever happen to my life. I'm so sorry. I've done so many things to hurt you. You should hate me."

"It's okay," consoled Addie. "I forgive you. I will always forgive you."

"Even for getting myself killed?"

"Yes, Damon. I forgive you," Addie decided after some thought. The tears came harder and faster. "It's not your fault; you're simply another victim of my sister."

"Addie, Elena didn't do this to me. I did this to me. I was careless. You can't blame your sister."

Addie laughed bitterly, "Really? Would you have ever been out there trying to delay the ritual if she wasn't the doppelganger?"

"I wouldn't have been out there if _I_ hadn't been stupid and fed her my blood," Damon stressed trying to get through to her.

"No, no. You agreed that we would let her turn into a vampire. I forgave you for that. You lied when you said my forgiveness was enough. You were out there because you needed _Elena's_ forgiveness."

Damon sighed heavily; he didn't want his last moments with Addie to be spent fighting over whether or not he had feelings for Elena. Cutting to the chase would just save time. "Fine," he admitted. "I needed Elena's forgiveness."

"Why wasn't mine enough?! Why did you have to give up your life for her? Why is everyone I care about giving up their life for her?" Addie cried, ragged breaths shaking her body.

"Because we love her," he whispered, wanting to get the conversation over with. He wasn't going to try and make her understand that nobody, besides John, _chose_ to die for Elena, that she wasn't to blame for anyone's death. That was an argument her wouldn't live long enough to finish. Addie's issues with Elena were too deep rooted. She blamed Elena for everything, just as he had always blamed Stefan. If Stefan hadn't turned Katherine over to their father, if Stefan hadn't been competing for her to begin with, if Stefan hadn't made him become a vampire…. He accepted now that nothing that had happened to him was his brother's fault; he could only hope Addie would figure out the same thing before she was on her deathbed. "But, Addie, every single person would have died for you, too."

"You still love Elena?"

Of course that was going to be the point that she picked up on. Damon's lips pursed in thought. How could he say it in a way she couldn't misinterpret? He couldn't think of one so he chanced, "I feel the same way about Elena as I do Katherine. Well, not quite; I don't hate Elena. But I was in love with both of them, for one deluded reason or another. That doesn't just disappear. No matter how much I hate Katherine, there's going to be this tiny little part of me that still loves and cares about her. It's the same with Elena. But, Ads, I can put into words how I feel about them. There's no way I could possibly come up with the right words to explain my feelings for you. I never had that with of them. I never felt… this magnetic-like attraction for them. I sensed something about you the moment you started yelling at me for lying in the road."

He couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. "A normal person would ask what the hell I was doing. But you, love, I was so taken aback when what you started ranting about was how reckless I was being, putting the life of the driver who would hit me at risk. Of course you didn't know that person was destined to die whether by a wreck trying to avoid me or by me killing them. Really, that's why I didn't kill you; there was something special about you. Something that made me think I _had_ to keep you alive for some reason. I think that's why I compelled you the way I did. You were so ready to let me kill you. How was I to know that you weren't going to go off and do it yourself after you stopped me? Even then I wasn't willing to risk your life so I forced you to take control of your life and to get your shit together.

"So yes, a part of me needed Elena's forgiveness because I still love her and I couldn't go through eternity with her hating me. But I don't think I would have risked my life if I knew you wouldn't forgive me for being stupid and reckless. You forgive me for anything that I do; I knew you wouldn't hate me forever if I messed up the plan. If I had thought you would… a lifetime of you hating me is an infinite times worse than an eternity of Elena hating me. You are everything to me. You erase my past, consume my present and would have dictated my future. My whole world revolves around _you_. With Katherine the world revolved around me and my happiness and my desire to have something my brother didn't. With Elena the world revolved around me again; it only mattered that I loved her, it didn't matter how she felt. With you I can't think of anything except how you feel."

"You forgot about how I would feel when you went and got yourself bitten," Addie retorted bitterly, tears flowing in a hard and steady stream.

"I convinced myself that I was doing it for you. I believed nothing would happen to me and in the end everything would work out and you would be happy. My brain thinks that something is going to make you happy and it instantly becomes the plan. I _wasn't_ consciously thinking about Elena at the time, it's only looking back that I realize I truly did it for her forgiveness," he explained lamely.

Addie inhaled deeply and closed her eyes before deciding, "It doesn't matter. I don't care why you did what you did. I don't care if you still have feelings for Elena and Katherine. Unless… should I go and get one of them?"

"No, Addison. I don't want to spend the time I have left with them. I want to spend them with you. I would have spent eternity with you, if you would have had me, would have wanted that. You're all I want."

"I don't want to lose you," Addie whispered, her voice cracking as she fought not to sob.

Damon wanted to close his eyes; he didn't want to see her hurting. The bite was taking; he was too weak to even lift up his hand to wipe away her tears. But he wouldn't close his eyes; he wouldn't look away from her, no matter how much it hurt him. He wanted to take in her beauty and everything that made her his Ads for as long as possible. He wasn't sure if he would even open his eyes again if he succumb to letting them close. "Hey," Damon gently said, hoping to distract her and ease the tears, "do something for me?"

Not wanting him to suffer eagerly she answered, "Of course. Anything. What do you need?"

"The envelope. You never opened it. It's on the nightstand."

"I know what it says. There's no need to open it," Addie said quietly, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. "I just want to be with you."

A series of coughs came over Damon. He did his best to keep his mouth closed, not wanting to cough in her face nor let her hand go to cover his mouth. The fit subsided, leaving a tangy metallic taste in his mouth. More blood. Still feeling a tickle in his throat he cleared it, "Humor me. You said anything. I need you to open it. It's on the nightstand."

Reluctantly, Addie sat up a little so she could reach the piece of mail without moving Damon. "It's not good news. Scholarship recipients received notification by mid-April."

"You never know. Could have been lost in the mail. It's a long way from London to here. As much as I hate him, Klaus is right about one thing; they don't send junk mail across the Atlantic," Damon rebutted.

She settled back down next to Damon and felt him immediately wrap his arm around her waist, again pulling her closer. As he intertwined a leg with hers and burrowed into her neck Addie giggled lightly, running her fingers through the back of his hair, "We both know you like cuddling more than I do -"

"I'm comfortable enough in my sexuality to admit to that; it doesn't make me any less manly."

"I'm not saying it does. It's just odd how I end up with the most touchy, feely person I know when I like my own bubble of personal space. I get tense when anyone but you or Jeremy hugs me. You are being extra snuggly tonight," she observed.

Against her neck Damon contently hummed, "Mhm. I'd offer to back off but this is my last chance to hold you. Plus, I'm freezing and you're a radiator."

"That's the fever making you cold," Addie noted, purposefully ignoring the other thing he said.

Damon chuckled bitterly, "The last time I was sick was I was so young that my mother sang me a lullaby; I told you about that."

"Ah, yes," Addie grinned, teasing him, "Dammy-doo. I recall that. Will it make you feel better if I call you that and sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star? Unfortunately I don't know All Through The Night."

He groaned but his lips twitched upwards at her affection. She really did listen when he talked. Katherine had never done that and he had never cared enough to compel any of the girls he had been with to listen, not that he ever told them anything of importance. "I can't believe you remember that."

Addie smirked and kissed the top of his head, "Of course I do, Dammy-doo."

"Ugh. Please don't. I don't want my girlfriend emasculating me back to being a five year old."

"Don't worry; you're a very manly big boy," she laughed.

"Good. Then I won't sound like a baby when I asked you to ask my back," he mumbled, a bit of color returning to his cheeks.

With a sad smile Addie slid her hand up under his shirt and lightly ran her nails in large circles up and down his back. She sighed, "I used to like having my back scratched when I got sick."

"You still like it, sick or not," he added suggestively, lightly pressing his lips to her neck.

Blushing hard, Addie scoffed and tried to play of her embarrassment, "That's you, mister."

"Mmm...it's both of us," he concede. For several minutes that passed far too fast Damon lay enjoying the sensation and concentrating on Addie; the way her chest fell and raised as she breathed unevenly, indicative of her crying, and the way her hair smelled of cucumber melon and her skin of blackberries and vanilla. And blood, her sweet, intoxicating blood that he could hear her pounding heart pumping through her. Damon became aware of just how dry his throat was, of how parched he felt. "You haven't opened the letter," he reminded, trying to distract himself.

Knowing Damon was going to keep pressing the topic until she read whatever was in the envelope. Sighing, she picked it up and ran her finger under the seal. Addie was surprised to find that it was a stack of at least six or seven sheets of paper that she unfolded. Aloud she read:

_Dear Ms. Addison Gilbert,_

_I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected by the London College of Music Department of Junior Musicians to receive a full scholarship to our World of Music summer program. Your award is for a position in the Music Production division. This scholarship was established to recognize youth with outstanding talent and we feel have great potential for a future in the music industry. _

_To receive this scholarship you are expected to complete two items. First please review and sign the enclosed Release of Information Form. Second, we ask that you send a thank you letter to your scholarship benefactor Mr. Nic Mikaelson. Donors believe that both they and you are making a difference in the world. They are interested in hearing about you - your academic plans, extracurricular activities, and career goals, as well as what the scholarship means to you. Enclosed you will find some general tips to help you compose your letter. _

_The scholarship will be placed on your applicant account on a hold status awaiting the arrival of you Release of Information Form and thank you letter. Please deliver or send these to the London College of Music (address listed below) by the 9th of May. The Department of Junior Musicians will forward your thank you letter to your donor._

_Congratulations and best wishes for a productive and educational summer. We look forward to seeing you on the 19th of May. _

_Sincerely,_

_Bill Kelly_

_Head of the Department of Junior Musicians_

"You're right, that's not good news. That's amazing news_, _love. You did it! You beat out hundreds of applicants. You put your mind to winning this and you did," Damon applauded as brightly and energetically as he he could.

Addie folded the papers back up and stuck them in the envelope as she shook her head. "It doesn't matter now."

"What? Of course it matters! Do you know what this means? You get out of Mystic Falls for the summer, just like you wanted."

"That's exactly it," she pointed out quietly. "I _can't_ leave Mystic Falls. How am I supposed to go off and have an amazing summer vacation after Jenna and John? After you? I'm just suppose to leave my siblings here to fend for themselves? Klaus is still out there. Elijah, too. You don't think they're going to come back looking for revenge after we tried to kill them?"

Damon hesitated, looking for the proper way to phrase what he wanted to say. "When Ana kidnapped Bonnie and Elena you told me you weren't helping Stefan because you would only get in the way and get yourself killed. Addie, you know that Stefan and Bonnie are going to be here looking after your family. Wouldn't it mean less work for them if they had one less person to worry about? If they could devote more time to defending than to watching? I'm not saying you would get in the way. I'm saying that everyone's mind would be a lot more at ease knowing that you are 3,000 miles away, safe from Klaus.

"As for _leaving_ your siblings behind to deal with everything on their own, they have each other and all their friends for support. And I don't mean any offense by this but you're not exactly helping by being locked in your room. You make everyone worry about you. Knowing you're off in London having fun and doing something you love is what will make everyone happiest. You have to do this. Addie, I've never heard you say you want anything remotely tangible or materialistic except this. Everything you have told me you wanted has been centered around your emotions. This scholarship, this opportunity is something you _really_ wanted. It's something that will even improve your mental health. Ads, what do you plan to do after this? After me?" he asked quietly. "I don't want you sulking around and being depressed and mourning me. I have to know that you're going to be ok. This program is going to help you get over me."

"I don't - I'm not going to just get over you, Damon. My parents have been gone a year and I'm still not over them. Part of me is ever going to get over you. The only thing that's going to happen is that the pain and the memory of you will hurt less and less. L-Losing you is going to be one of the hardest things I've ever faced."

"And going to this program you've dreamed about is going to help you not focus on me. You're not going to have school to distract you and I can't just compel you to be ok. I want you to go to this. Addie, this can change your future. Don't let fear and grief hold you back. Please, if you won't go for yourself, go for me."

Addie frowned as she ran her fingers through his dark hair. Apologetically she started, "Damon…"

"Promise me you'll go," he urged. "Grant a dying man his last wish and promise you'll go. I need to know that you're going to be ok. Knowing that you have this to look forward to will ease my mind."

"You must have a pretty inflated ego to think I'm going to be a inconsolable wreck," she jested lightly, trying to change the topic. She didn't want to make a promise she had no intention of filling.

He'd let her change the topic but he _was_ going to have that promise before he died. Addie would be going to that program because she'd be too guilt ridden if she broke her promise. "We both know my ego is huge but that's not why I'm certain you'll be a mess," he yawned. It was getting harder to stay awake.

"What makes-" Addie cut off as Damon gave a loud moan, his face screwed up in pain. Instantly her hands were stroking his face, his hair, his back, anywhere she thought might soothe him. "Hey, hey. It's ok, Damon. Shh. It's alright. You're ok," she whispered encouragingly, unsure of who she was trying to convince.

When his muscle spasms stopped Damon struggled to catch his breath. He was growing weaker. It wasn't time yet; he wasn't ready to leave her. He needed to try and build up his strength. "Blood," Damon murmured. "I need blood."

Quickly Addie readjusted the pillows, reclined on them and pulled Damon up just enough so his head was inclined, resting against her shoulder. "Here," she offered, placing her wrist in front of his mouth.

Damon shook his head, "I meant a blood bag."

"What? You can feed off Elena but not me?"

"I thoug-"

"Yes, yes. Elena was Katherine. So you can feed off Katherine but not me?"

"Addie, I was hallucinating the first time she fed me her blood," he sighed, unconsciously resting more of his weight against Addie.

"How does that wind up with your mouth on her neck?"

"Ok, I took her blood. God, you're as anally exact about that as she was," Damon mumbled.

Addie rolled her eyes and rested her head against the headboard in exasperation. "You really think comparing us is a wise idea?"

"Are you really going to be jealous over something that happened 145 years ago?"

"I'm jealous because when lost your mind you fantasized your ex-girlfriend," she huffed, knowing she was being a bit petty.

Frowning Damon recalled, "You said she was toying with me. Said I just needed to say no and walk away."

Perplexed Addie wondered, "When did I say that?" She didn't recall ever lecturing Damon for having a relationship with Katherine.

"First hallucination," he answer feebly.

"Fake me sounds smart. Drink," she ordered, again placing her wrist in front of his mouth. "You're growing weaker; I can tell. You need to drink."

Weakly he protested, "No, Ads. Barely stopped last time."

"But you stopped. You're not going to hurt me, Damon. It's ok."

It wasn't ok but he was so thirsty. The blue veins of her wrist taunted him. He raised his hand to move her away but the hand not in front of his caught his and he felt her gently squeeze. "It's alright," she whispered. "You need to drink."

Damon made to protest but her wrist was pressed against his mouth. He could feel the blood flowing through her wrist against his lips. The thirst was too much; he could feel his fangs. Addie pressed firmer against him. It was the last bit of encouragement he needed. His eyes slipped closed as sweet, delicious life poured into his mouth. Slowly he began to feel his body warm. The blood soothed the burning ache in his throat. His cheeks hollowed as he sucked at the puncture marks. He could feel his heart begin to beat more normally.

Addie squeezed Damon's hand tightly as she watched him drink. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt him move to interlace their fingers. She waited for him to pull away. A minute passed. Two minutes. A woozy, lightheaded feeling began to sweep over her. "Damon," she whispered, trying to pull her wrist away. Louder and sharper she repeated, "Damon! You gotta stop, hun."

Reluctantly, Damon pulled away. He could hear Addie's heart beating slower than before. He cursed under his breath. A thought came to him when he went bite his wrist to give her his blood. "Ads, I don't… I don't think you should drink my blood," he forced out tentatively. "There's werewolf venom in it. I don't know what that would do to you."

"Don't worry about it," she muttered, running her fingers through his hair.

Damon shook his head, lifting his shoulder to look at her. "No, it's not. I drank too much. You need… you need to heal, to recover."

She did feel a little dizzy and tired. Addie nodded and suggested, "Let's lay back down. You need to conserve your strength and I need to recover mine. Ok?"

Damon was already shifting before she finished speaking. He rested on his side facing her and smiled slightly when she rested her head next to his. Feeling a little better he reached up and brushed the hair out her face and tucking it behind her ear. "Is your - did you do something to your hair?" he wondered, studying a lock he curled around his finger.

Addie giggled, "Don't ever spend time alone with Katherine when she's bored. She will pour beet and carrot juice on your head in an attempt to dye it."

"That's not quite what we did when she was bored. Wh- Ow!" he cried and feigned pain when she lightly slapped at his shoulder.

"You dying doesn't make me want to know about your rendezvous with her."

"Fair enough. Why would you let her do that?"

"I'm sure you know how bossy she gets when she's bored," Addie quipped, sticking her tongue out.

He nodded understandingly. For a long time they stared at each other, exchanging small, sad smiles. Damon cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing away the tears that occasionally fell. He waggled his eyebrows at her making her laugh slightly. Conspiratorially, Damon whispered, "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course."

"There's a time that I compelled you that you don't know about," he admitted nervously. Damon continued quickly, anticipating the question she was forming. "I made you forget something I said. You reacted badly; you weren't ready to hear what I had to say. I'm not trying to excuse what I did but you deserve to know why I did it. We wouldn't still be together if I hadn't compelled you."

Addie felt conflicted. She thought she could trust Damon to be honest with her but if what he said was true, his cover up, his compulsion saved their relationship, which she valued very much. Being mad was pointless at that stage, though. Curiously, she asked, "And you think I'm ready to hear it now?"

"Probably not," Damon answered slowly. "But you don't have a choice. I don't have a choice. You need to know and I don't have time to wait for the perfect moment. I know you think love is a word that's just carelessly thrown around but I need you to know that I mean what I say. You once said, and I quote, 'real love would be willing to do whatever, die or break all morals for someone else even after they generate a World War Two sized genocide and brutally kill everyone you have ever cared about and tortured you to within an inch of your life.'"

"You're too sweet to ever generate a World War Two sized genocide. There are four people alive that I have cared about: you, Elena, Katherine, and Stefan. If you keep running around with vampires, I imagine you and Katherine are either going to be great friends or the greatest of enemies; however, you're never going to kill Katherine. You kept me from killing her when she was freed from the tomb because you know when someone is an asset. You could have outed Stefan a long time ago, getting him killed but you haven't and as long as he doesn't go into Ripper Mode, you'll never have anything to do with his death because you know the level of betrayal it will amount to in the eyes of your sister. You'll never kill Elena because as much as you hate her, she's your sister and you're just as bound to her as I am to Stefan. And, my God, Addie you drive me ten types of crazy so much so that it's felt like you've tortured me within an inch of my life but you would never actually do that because I know you care too much about me.

"However, even if you suddenly became a sociopath and generated a World War Two sized genocide, brutally killed everyone I have ever cared about and tortured me to within an inch of my life I would still be enamored with you. I have done some crazy things all in the name of your welfare. I've put my life on the line for you. You have no idea the number of nights I spent awake stressing over the morality of being with you before I decided to forgo my morals and go for you.

"I told you all love is desperate and pathetic and there is nothing you won't do for the one you love. I told you love makes you want to be a better person, someone worthy of who you are with. Ads, you can't say there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you because I am desperate and pathetic when it comes to pleasing you. You don't make me want to be a better person; I am naturally a better person being with you.

"You say real, true love doesn't exist. I challenge you to find a way to describe how I feel about you other than having genuine true love for you, as defined by yourself and my own beliefs. I _thought_ I truly loved before you but the way you make me feel shows me that I was deluded. I love you, Addison. I'm sorry if that scares you but I can't go without you knowing that I love you."

"I know," Addie whispered, tears streaming down her face. "I know you love me, Damon. I l-"

"Don't," he said, abruptly interrupting her. "Don't say it just because I'm dying. I know how you feel. I know how much I mean to you and how much you care about me. You don't have to say it. I know you're not ready to say it."

Addie laughed sadly, "We don't have eternity. We don't have the time to wait for me to be ready. It's now or never."

Damon cupped the back her head and rested his forehead against hers. "Then let it be never," he insisted. "I've never wanted you to feel pushed or pressured into anything. I don't want time to do that."

"Damon…"

"It's ok, Addie," he reassured her, tears coming for the first time. "I know how you feel about me. You have no idea how much that means to me, how much you mean to me. I know I sound stupid but I always told you that you make me cheesy. You make me feel like the specialist, luckiest guy in the world to have been chosen by you. Love, you and I are both so far from perfect but I believe that _we_ are prefect. Everybody says we're crazy and we don't make sense and they're right. We never would have wound up together if we weren't crazy. If we made sense to everyone else, we wouldn't be together. While everyone thinks our bickering and fighting should break us, it's what keeps us together. Normal and simple would just be far too boring for us, wouldn't it?"

Addie nodded but in between sniveling she jested, "I could really go for boring right about now."

Two tears rolled down his cheek as Damon laughed softly, "Yeah, boring does sound kind of nice. But I always have to be causing some kind of trouble, don't I?"

Her thumb brushed away his tears, mirroring his futile attempt to keep her cheek dry. Damon pressed his cheek into her warm palm. He was cold again. As more of a statement than question Addie noted, "The blood is wearing off." He nodded, refusing to meet her eyes. "Are you in pain?"

"Yeah," Damon scoffed quietly, "my heart is breaking because I'm going to lose the girl I love." Her frown made it obvious she wasn't amused or satisfied. He didn't want her to know that his entire body felt like it was on a repeat cycle of freezing and rolling in shattered glass. He sighed, "It's nothing I can't handle." Regret filled Damon as Addie began to cry harder.

"How long are you going to fight this?" she asked, torn between wanting more time with him and wanting his suffering to end.

"Until we're ready to say goodbye," he murmured. It felt like all of a sudden he was fading faster. Had Addie blood, healthy blood that made his heart beat faster, caused the poison to spread through him more effectively?

Addie gave him a forced, watery smile, "We already established we don't have forever."

"I know." He closed his eyes in exhaustion. After a few minutes he meekly professed, "I love you, Addie." He heard her sniffle and take a shuddering breath. There was one last thing. "Promise you'll go to London, love. Promise you'll laugh and have fun," he pleaded. "Promise me, love."

It only took a slight tilt of her head for Addie to capture his lips in a long, feather-light kiss. It was a kiss of long, a kiss of solace, a kiss of goodbye. "I promise," she said in a hush tone, brushing the tear from his cheek.

"Thank you."

"Anything for you."

"Well, it's _me_ you should be thanking," came a glib voice from across the room. Addie sat up in shock, glaring at Katherine as she leaned on the door frame holding up a red vial between her thumb and index finger. When Damon finished rolling onto his back she began to confidently stride to him. "I mean, I'm the one who brought the cure."

"You got free," marveled Damon as Katherine sat next to him and uncorked the vial.

"Yep. Finally," she dramatically stressed. Holding the vial to Damon's parted lips Katherine tilted it, blood flowing into his mouth.

Almost instantly the pain subsided. Damon tilted his head in confusion, "And you still came here?"

Katherine brushed her fingers against his cheek, watching as they regained color. "I owed you one," she shrugged, standing up.

She was halfway across the room when Damon thought to ask, "Where's Stefan?"

"He's paying for this," she answered, waving the vile at him. "He gave himself over to Klaus. I wouldn't expect him anytime soon."

"What do you mean, 'he gave himself over?'" Damon demanded, propping himself up on his elbows.

Katherine raised an impressed eyebrow as she thought of Stefan. She had never expected the brothers to bond again. "He just sacrificed everything to save you, including Elena. You're in charge of keeping her company now. Goodbye, Damon, Addie," Katherine smirked, sauntering to the door. At it she paused to look at Damon and reassured him, "It's ok to love both. I did."

Addie's eyes narrowed as she turned to Damon. "Are you _that_ certain I won't kill her?"

Damon nodded slowly, still processing what Katherine had said. Distractedly he confirmed, "I'm sure."

"Are you ok?" she asked, gently taking his face between her hands.

"No," he muttered. "What the hell has Stefan done?"

An uncomfortable knot formed in Addie's stomach. "He's alive, Damon; Katherine would have told you if he wasn't."

"Considering it's Klaus that's not much of a comfort," he replied tersely.

Addie scrambled out of the bed and followed Damon to his closet. As he shifted through shirts she demanded, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm going after him, of course." He pulled a random shirt off a hanger, too distracted to care which one and turned to go back into the bedroom.

"Of course not!" objected Addie, placing a hand in the center of his chest in hopes of stopping further movement. "Damon the only reason you haven't been skinned alive for screwing with Klaus' plan is because the werewolf bite was already going to take care of you. You and Klaus are not on good terms," she explained slowly. "Klaus and Stefan must have made a bargain for the cure. That means Klaus has a plan. Stefan just gave up everything to save your life. You try and mess up another plan and Klaus is ripping your heart out and Stefan _still_ has to hold up his end of the bargain."

"He's my brother!"

"Just once will you stop and think before acting? You just almost died! I am not going to lose you because you run off with some half-baked scheme again," Addie snapped. "You go there now, you die and whatever Stefan has done is for nothing. Damon, he just gave up Elena so you wouldn't die. Are you going to throw that right back in his face? Is that what he would want? Or would he prefer to know that you are taking care of Elena and going after him when you actually have a smart plan?"

Damon's lips pressed into a thin line as he shook his head. "This isn't right," he scowled.

Reaching up Addie caught his cheek and force him to look her in the eye. "No, it's not. But _we _need to do what's right. Damon, we went up against Klaus with a plan and he won, taking two people out with him. We will get Stefan back but we have to be smart about it. That means stopping for a minute and figuring out what the hell Klaus is up to, what his deal with Stefan is, and coming up with a good plan," she stressed.

"Ok," he uttered in reluctant agreement. She was right; he had to do this smart. "Ok."

"Thank you," Addie sighed, removing her hand from his chest.

He stepped up to her and cradled Addie's face between his hands. "What would it take for you to hate me?"

"If you have to ask that it's not a good idea."

Damon shook his head and confessed, "It's not what I'm going to do; it's what I wouldn't do. I couldn't have done what Stefan did; I'm too selfish. I wouldn't give you up to save my brother. I love him but… I don't think that I can say I love you or him more because they're such different types of love but… I've lived and been ok without Stefan. I don't think I'd be ok without you."

* * *

**A/N: And we close out season 2! Stay tuned for the epilogue which promises to wrap up a few loose ends (get those questions in now!), gives a major teaser as to what the sequel holds in store (anyone catch the hint in this chapter?), and a little update on our favorite couple following the strain on their relationship that came with Klaus' arrival.**


	38. Epilogue

May 1st, 2010

Damon is saved from the werewolf bite because Stefan gave himself over to Klaus in exchange for the crue.

* * *

May 4th, 2010

Perplexed by the odd thumping sound in the drum mix she had just recorded, Addie dragged her cursor over the progress bar, dragging the line of play to the beginning. For the next playback she removed the sound from the bass drum; perhaps the microphone had picked up some weird echo. The loop played for thirty seconds, the odd thumping sound sound still present. Addie restarted the track, this time turning off the snare drum. The sound seemed to deep to be the the high-hats or crash cymbal. Addie clamped her hands over the bulking headphones she used for mixing. The thumping sound was still present but it seemed to have sped up. Annoyed, she stopped all sound. But the thumping persisted.

Groaning, Addie pulled of her headphones and set them on her desk. The sound was coming from someone pounding at her door. Scowling she went to open the door. If it was Elena trying to talk to her again Addie wasn't going to bite her tongue. Her sister had tried to talk to her about John and Jenna twice since Damon had been cured; she wasn't interested in Elena trying to reattribute the blame to someone else. Addie reconsidered simply opening the door as she unlocked it; she'd made Damon replace the doorknob he broke. Determining if she actually wanted to talk to the person on the other side she called out, "What's the password?"

"Um… You drive me ten types of crazy? Converse and plaid? I love you?"

"Alright, alright, alright. Stop guessing," Addie grinned, opening the door for Damon. "You're very bad at it."

"Aww," Damon grinned shutting the door behind him. "I missed you, too."

"I just saw you last night; that doesn't give me very much time to miss you," Addie retorted smartly. Still, her arms wrapped around him as he pulled her into a tight hug. Mentally she went through the checklist she had created; he was slightly cool to the touch, his heartbeat was strong, steady, and a little faster than hers, and the grip around her was able to hold her tight. Each time she inventoried Damon's health a rush of relief washed over her. He was ok; the cure hadn't worn off.

"It's been over 18 hours. That's plenty of time!" he insisted as he moved to her laptop. "Besides, we both know how much you'd miss me if I wasn't here," Damon winked. He rolled his eyes slightly as he unplugged the headphones. "No wonder I was knocking for five minutes. You're gonna go deaf one day if you don't learn to keep the volume down."

Addie picked up the laptop and moved to sit on her bed as she pointed out, "Ideal mixing volume is 85 decibels. If I don't mix at that level then things start sounding screwed up at different volumes. Most people don't listen to music that loudly but sounds that you can individually make out at 85 decibels make a difference to what everything sounds like at a typical listening level."

"My point still stands; you're gonna go deaf," Damon noted, stretching out on the bed next to Addie and draping an arm over her shoulders. Casually he question, "Have you written to Mr. Nik Mikaelson about how awesome you are and thank him for the scholarship that means so much to you because it gets you out of playing with wolves, vampires, hybrids, and everything else that goes bump in the night?"

"I'm not taking the scholarship," Addie muttered as she opened up the web browser to Google.

"Uh, yeah, you are," declared Damon, giving her a stern look. "You promised me."

She shrugged dismissively, "I thought you were gonna die. I would have promised you the moon if it made you happy. Besides, I can't go with everything going on here."

"Addison, I've done some pretty intense things to keep my promises to you. You're not gonna keep one simple promise that means a lot to me?"

Addie made sure her eyes were wide and concerned as she looked at Damon innocently, "That was before Klaus took Stefan. I can't leave you alone to try and rescue him."

Damon leaned in to softly kiss her. She was sweet and adorable and she wasn't fooling him, He pulled away with a knowing smirk and elaborated, "You mean you don't trust me not to do something reckless without you playing Jiminy Cricket in my ear."

His cheek was cool and scruffy beneath her hand. He hadn't shaved since he found out about Stefan. He hadn't done much of anything but swing from the extremes of wallowing in despair and avidly searching for any clue as to where his brother was. Addie gave him a sympathetic smile; her heart ached for him. She whispered, "You don't have to hide how much you're hurting with smiles and wit, not with me." Damon's smirk fell as he dropped his forehead to rest against hers with a heavy sigh. Her thumb brushed lightly over his frown before she continued, "No matter what I say or do, you're going to do something reckless. Nothing is going to stop you from getting Stefan back, not even your love for me. We both know no matter what stupid thing you do, I'm going to forgive you. Stefan is your brother and, as much as I may hate what you do, I'm not going to hold trying to save your brother against you. I want to be around to help you, to encourage you when you lose hope, to track down leads with you. You don't need a babysitter. I want to be here because I care about you."

There was another light pressing of lips before Damon was quiet for several minutes, deep in thought. It was understandable why she wanted to be with him and he appreciated that. However, he couldn't go chasing down every lead if she was in Mystic Falls. Addie would want to go with him and he obviously wouldn't stand for that; he didn't know if Stefan was a threat to Addie but Klaus definitely was. He needed to keep the two as far apart as possible. Damon wasn't sure how many times he could get away without her noticing. School was about to end so he wouldn't even have that time break from her to get away. How many times would Addie forgive him for running after Klaus and Stefan without her? It was one thing for him to risk his own life for Stefan; it was another thing entirely to risk hers. She wouldn't see it that way though. Addie would want to be the Bonnie to his Clyde. He had to get her to go to London..

"You really believe I don't need a babysitter?" he teased.

"Fair enough. You need a babysitter but it's pointless since you wouldn't listen anyway."

"Ads, you promised me that you would go to the music program. I need you to keep that promise. Do you know how guilty I would feel if you were deprived of such an experience just to stay and help me? Addie, you need to go and do this. Think of everything you will learn, the connections you'll make, and how good it will look on college applications. Come on, love. You're strong minded and independent enough to know that you would be a fool to waste this opportunity because of a guy." Damon felt her shoulders tense as her lips pinched. That was the angle he needed to exploit, that she needed to put herself before him. "This is so much bigger than you and me. _If_ Stefan's still missing when you get back, I know you will be right by my side doing everything you can. I'll be ok; it's only for part of the summer. You can bet Elena is going to kick my ass back into gear if I get discouraged. And Alaric will have my back if I go after Stefan; you know he won't let me run into something without a good plan."

Pulling back from him Addie scoffed, "Alaric helps with your stupid plans!"

He couldn't come up with a valid argument against that. It was perhaps better that he change the topic and let the idea of not staying behind because of himself marinate. "How is it having your history teacher sleeping on your couch?"

She laughed, "It's a lot less awkward than running into him in his boxers. But seriously, it's kinda nice having Alaric here. He's not family but there is an adult around, even if he doesn't act like an authoritative figure. The only thing weird is when he tries to get me to talk about the ritual and Klaus. He tries to act like a therapist. I find that a good point in time to pawn him off on Jeremy or Elena."

"Ever consider that he's not trying to be a therapist but actually cares about you and how you are handling everything?" Damon postulated as he rubbed at his chin.

"He tried to kill me," reminded Addie.

Damon frowned, "I thought you were over that."

"I am but I hardly think it means we're gonna be best buddies. You don't almost kill someone and then care about them." Damon cleared his throat. "You're not right in the head; you don't count."

"Couldn't you argue that anyone who tries to kill someone isn't right in the head? Besides, Alaric staked you to hurt me for killing his wife. It had nothing to do with you."

"Why are you questioning me about Alaric?" she demanded, not in the mood for whatever game he was playing.

"Because your siblings seem to get that he cares about you guys. You don't and that's just…. I'm pretty sure he cares about you most. Partly because he feels bad for almost killing you and partly because you're you."

"How do you know?"

Damon thought as he guided her head to his shoulder and ran his fingers through her hair. He chuckled, "Addie, the guy's my best friend. He doesn't ride me about any of the crap I do but he's always on my ass about you. If I hurt you, I don't know which of you would kill me first. He always worries if I'm treating you alright and warns me not to screw anything up with you. Why would he do that if he doesn't care?"

"Ok," Addie conceded, "he cares. Why are we talking about Alaric?"

That was a valid point; they had plenty of more important things that they needed to discuss. He wondered, "Did Jeremy or Bonnie tell you about the locator spell we used to find you?"

"No. Wasn't it just like the locator spell used when Rose and Trevor took Elena?"

"Same spell, different process. We started looking for you after Elena came back to life. I was pretty worried as you hadn't been answering my text or your phone and you weren't in the middle of all the trouble. Bonnie tried finding you with Elena's blood but couldn't. She tried using Jeremy's blood and it still wouldn't work," Damon relayed, struggling to find the words to continue.

Addie blinked slowly as she studied the bright Google homepage. Something about Damon's story didn't add up. "Then how'd you find me?"

"My blood."

"You're blood?" she echoed skeptically.

"My blood."

Putting her laptop aside Addie pulled her knees up to her chest and rested a chin on one. She raked an anxious hand through her hair as she thought, "Why your blood? It's suppose to be tracked by blood relatives. Oh, gross. We must share an ancestor whose blood we both have. Prior to your birth a Gilbert and Salvatore must have…. How distantly related are we?"

Damon rolled his eyes as he rested his head against the headboard. While he understood her need for everything to be rational and logical and appreciated it as it had kept him from doing some very rash things, Addie could sometimes take her need for sense so far that she missed why her logic was faulty. He reassured her, "We're not related."

"The spell is blood magic; we have to be,"' she insisted her brow furrowing.

"First of all, no Salvatores were in Mystic Falls until my parents moved here when my mother was already pregnant with me. Secondly, it's supposed to work by blood magic but your biological brother's blood and your biological cousin's blood failed to produce results," Damon pointed out slowly. "Somehow my blood tracked you, though."

Addie scoffed, "Well what the hell does that mean? This is why I don't like the supernatural crap. When something is supposed to make sense and work, the world gets flipped upside down."

Sensing the anxiety in her voice, Damon rubbed small, soothing circles on her back. Would telling her make things better or worse? He'd let her pick. "I don't have any proof," he started hesitantly, "but do you want to hear my theory of possibilities?"

"Sure because I don't have a damn clue," she answered sourly. She didn't _want_ to be some abnormal freak with bizarre blood. It wasn't something she couldn't escape, though. She had known for a long time that something wasn't right.

"I'll start with the facts; those are easier to comprehend," Damon said sympathetically. He knew this was going to be a struggle for her to accept. "My active compulsion, meaning something you were consciously aware of doing or feeling, like the compulsion to take control of your life, wore off whenever you would drink my blood. Compulsion where I made you forget something stayed. I think that was because the memories were literally gone, you couldn't remember. The compulsion that changed your behavior or sensations was something your brain was processing so it was still there to be undone. We know that there is already something unusual about that; drinking my blood shouldn't mess with compulsion.

"We learned from Katherine that you could learn to resist compulsion entirely by me repeatedly compelling you and feeding you my blood. We did that. Over that time period you took in more vampire blood than any human typically would, even if they were a feeder.

"Now, when we started trying to get you to resist compulsion your blood smell poisonously sweet. I tried it when I bit you and it was like I had an allergic reaction with my throat swelling shut. As soon as you were able to resist compulsion, your blood smelled as sweet as a vampire's and I could drink it without any reaction.

"We have you able to resist compulsion from ingesting my blood and as a result I am able to ingest your blood. Now, let's step outside to a world of conjecture. While none of this is logical, one thing remains constant in the supernatural and real world: survival of the fittest. Knowing that, It makes very little sense as to why something that protected you from being eaten by vampires should vanish when you gain the ability to keep vampires out of your head."

Damon paused briefly before quickly saying, "Brief side note on abilities, we're just talking about what's going on with your blood. You still have the ability to perceive deception from vampires. Deception includes hiding what they are so I'm adding it to the list of, for a lack of a better word, survival aids."

Addie groaned, resting her forehead on her knees and burying her fingers in her hair. "The blood, Damon. The blood. Can we focus on one of many problems at a time?"

"I wouldn't call that a problem but we do have a problem with your blood," he admitted, conflicted on which direction to steer the conversation.

"Oh, my God! On topic, please. Why did your blood work when my siblings' didn't?" snapped Addie, frustrated and queasy feeling about the entire conversation.

It took Damon a minute to gather where he left of and to compose something that Addie would accept. He could sense how upset the conversation was making her. There wasn't any simple way to put it. Finally he explained, "I know this sounds ridiculous but think about how much of my blood you've had. Think about how my blood healed you from the edge of death. My blood has done a lot to you several times. My blood conditioned you to be resistant to compulsion. What if it did something more? What if my blood changed yours? There's no sensible explanation as to why you can resist compulsion. The closest thing I've been able to come up with is that you're biologically different from the rest of the population. For some reason vampire blood undoes compulsion. My theory is that it undoes it because your body accepts the blood more readily than an average person. In an average person it just gives the vampire ability of rapid healing; in you it heals _and_ gives you the vampire ability of resisting compulsion, meaning you can't be compelled, which is why it undoes the compulsion.

Warily Addie said, "Damon-"

"I _know_ it's not logical. Being a vampire isn't logical. Addie, you have to accept that whatever happened is not logical. I'm just conjecturing _possibilities_ that make the most sense," he stressed. He was trying his best to answer her question, to explain what happened to her but for that he needed her to open her mind. "My blood has been in you so much that it's become a part of yours." He was no biologist but from his time with the Augustine Society he knew that it was vampire blood that rapidly duplicated to heal someone; it wasn't their body making more of their own blood. Eventually the vampire blood would leave the system, which is why it wasn't a cure for chronic, persistent illnesses

"Each time I compelled and healed you, you needed less of my blood. Logically, my blood would have left your system but what if each time some of my blood lingered. You already had some of my blood in you to heal you, which is why you had to lose less blood each time and needed less of my blood. What was still in you would have automatically started healing you." The incredulous look from Addie made him groan. "Stop trying to make this rational! Logic isn't the answer!" Damon snapped. "And stop looking at me like I'm crazy. Let me explain why I think my blood must be in you. Or some protein that makes me a vampire attached itself to your DNA."

Addie move to rest her head in Damon's lap. Everything he was saying didn't make sense and it was making her head hurt trying to understand. The pain began to instantly ease when his cool hand rested over her forehead. She loved how he knew exactly what she needed sometimes. Addie sighed, "Make it fast."

"If I go fast I skip the possible reasoning," he said apologetically. He wasn't sure if her dismissive meant she didn't care or if she wanted the reasoning. It wasn't difficult to tell she wanted the conversation to end but he needed something first. "If you have vampire blood/DNA, I've explained why it would make you resist compulsion. I _think_ it's more likely that their has been a shift in your DNA though. Attaching a vampire protein to your DNA would, in my mind, would neutralize whatever it is that makes your blood dangerous to vampires. That's why I can drink your blood.

"If your DNA was altered, maybe it was so dramatic that it made the locator spell not recognize you as a relative to Jeremy or Elena. It recognized me, though, because you are carrying a protein unique to me and vampirism. .

Addie turned her head to look up at Damon speculatively. "Let me see if I follow. I consumed so much of your blood that when it mixed with mine, my DNA picked up whatever makes you resistant to compulsion." Damon nodded affirmatively. "And that change in my DNA makes me not recognizable by my siblings because because a portion of my DNA is part _vampire_?"

"Right. They're both fully human; your DNA has something extra. I have that extra something, making us a blood match, at least that's the term I'm using. Follow everything so far?" he asked, smiling down at her and poking the tip of her nose.

"If everything means my DNA has some of your in it, explaining the compulsion and why your blood worked for the spell, yes," she answered, trying not to giggle at the feeling of him playing with her belly button ring.

"Very good. But going back to what I said about one defense mechanism, poisonous blood, being cancelled by a new defense, compulsion resistance is the one thing I can definitively say makes no sense, magical or real. Now, this idea is bizarre but it's what I'm hoping for. What if your blood is still poisonous to every other vampire except me?"

Addie toyed with the hem of his shirt as she considered the idea. Not understanding she inquired, "How do you figure this possible?"

"Say the DNA of mine mixed with yours is unique to me and not every other vampire. Maybe it makes your blood safe for me to drink because I'm essentially a part of your blood. Every other vampire remains allergic, meaning you still have the defense mechanism. In the survival of the fittest argument, it's probably safe to assume that I'm not going to eat you and there is a bond of trust between us because of how much I was around your blood and how much you had to trust me to not let you die. Agree?" Damon finished hopefully.

"Makes as much sense as anything else," she muttered bitterly. "My apologies but I think I will trust in vervain to make sure my blood is toxic and a vampire doesn't eat me."

Damon frowned as he spelled out her name on her cheek with his finger tip. He reminded, "The whole point we carried on trying to make you resistant to compulsion was so you wouldn't have to spend the rest of your life on vervain. If my theory is right, that's still possible. Don't you even want to test my theory?"

Her lips pursed in thought; she really hated having to rely on something for her safety. "How do we test your theory?"

Damon bit his lip and inhaled sharply. She wouldn't like his idea. He drew out "Yeahhh, about that. See, we only know where one other vampire is right now." He continued on despite Addie already shaking her head. "I happen to be her blood supplier. Wouldn't it just be an amazing coincidence if a blood bag had just a tiny amount of your blood in it?"

"No, we are not testing your theory on Caroline," she answered firmly.

"She would experience a minor discomfort for the briefest of time. I swallowed a whole mouthful back when it was poisonous and it didn't do any permanent damage. Addie, it's a few seconds of discomfort for Caroline or your life on vervain," Damon pressed.

"No, I can't do that without her permission."

Sighing heavily, Damon cupped her cheek. "We've already established that anyone finding out about your compulsion thing is a bad idea. This is just like that. You _know_ if you asked her Caroline would agree."

Addie frowned, "Why can't we just ask her? She can-"

"That girl cannot keep a secret. I never had to compel her to say anything I told her to keep just between us. You're the one who said 'one can keep a secret, beware of two, and all will know with three.'"

"That was from a book; you totally butchered the quote. And I don't like being reminded of your time with Caroline; she does it more times than I could ever care to hear."

"What does she say?" Damon asked curiously. He couldn't remember doing anything with or to or telling Caroline anything he would mind Addie knowing but it was interesting that she brought him up.

Addie scoffed, "She is far too interested in our sex life or lack thereof. Caroline questions why I'm with you if not for the sex." He couldn't help the arrogant smirk. "Really, that's two of your ex-partners who are more invested in our sex life than you are."

"Katherine say something?" She nodded. "Ignore her…. Ignore Caroline. It's none of their business."

Bitterly Addie muttered, "There's no business to be had."

"I'm not having this discussion again. You aren't ready."

"No, I am ready. _You're_ the one with the personal hang ups," she retorted, poking him in the center of his chest. "Really, it's a bit of a blow to the ego to be reminded by them that they've slept with you when you either can't or won't with me."

Damon looked up at the plastic stars on the ceiling and groaned. He really didn't want to get into conversation with her about it. Bit by bit his hangups about her being too childish, too innocent, too pure were breaking away. "When you can say how you feel about me, we'll revisit the topic," he decided. That'd hopefully buy him a year. She had barely been able to face the fact that she loved him at his deathbed; no way was she going to be shouting it out anytime soon. Wanting to change the topic he asked, "Are you gonna give me a vial of blood or stay on vervain for eternity?"

"Fine," she scowled. It probably wouldn't hurt Caroline at all.

"I love it when you work with rather than against me," Damon mused as he pulled out a packaged needle, alcohol swab and corked vial from his pocket.

Addie watch in disbelief as he took her arm and rubbed the alcohol swab over the veins at her elbow. "You seriously were carrying that around with you?"

"Yeah," he answered, opening the needle. "We need to know if you should be on vervain or not as soon as possible."

"You know, I'm getting the feeling this has more to do with you _not_ wanting me on vervain than caring about if I have to take it for the rest of my life," she uttered to herself. Addie screwed her eyes shut as she felt a sharp sting. The vial could be heard clicking into place. There was absolutely no desire to see her blood flow into the tube. Sometimes she still wondered how she could date a vampire and be squeamish of blood at the same time.

"That," Damon said slowly, removing the needle and pricking his own finger, "is not true." Addie swipe her tongue across his fingertip and felt the puncture heal. "I'm not… we haven't even… nevermind."

Addie raised her eyebrows at him and pushed, "You mean we haven't discussed you drinking my blood?"

Damon held his hands up innocently after setting the needle and vial on the nightstand. "That is something entirely up to you."

"I don't mind if you drink from me occasionally," she admitted. She actually kind of enjoyed it. "But I don't want you feeding on me."

"If you're head was not in my lap I'd kiss you until you were breathless," said Damon seriously. The way her cheeks pinked made him grin. "I, somehow, ended up with the most amazing girl in the world."

Addie frowned and joked, "That probably means I should really examine my choices. I must be insane."

"We both are," Damon replied carelessly as he reached for her laptop and set it on his lower thighs. In the Google search box he put in the name Liz had given him.

"Who's Tara Miller?"

"Victim of a vampire attack," Damon answered distractedly. Clicking open the first news article he skimmed for the information he was looking for. He did the same with the next, finding what he wanted. "A victim of Stefan. He and Klaus are in Oregon."

"How do you know," Addie questioned as he clicked on another link.

Damon sighed heavily, "I have Liz looking out for vampire deaths. Apparently there is some nation wide network of somebody who knows somebody who knows something. She gave me the name of Tara Miller who was found dead inside her home this morning. The news doesn't say anything about her being drained of blood _but_ Liz knows she was and I know Stefan did it. See, even when he's in Ripper Mode and chews straight through someone's neck, he has this horrible guilt that makes him set the body back up in a presentable way with the decapitated head in place."

"Gruesome. However, I think I would rather find the head and body separate. You go to touch someone, thinking their throat has been sliced and the head comes rolling off? Sounds like something straight out of a horror movie. I prefer dead things to not move around unexpectedly," Addie reflected.

"Ok, I'm gonna warn you. I'm going to put the laptop next to you and then I'm gonna kiss you," Damon said slowly, as if explaining to a child.

It took Addie a second to register why he was warning her; he was dead, technically. She swatted at him lightly and laughed, "You know what I mean!"

* * *

May 8th, 2010

Confusion and concern overwhelmed Damon when he entered the kitchen Saturday morning. Addie sat on the counter top staring into a pint of Ben &amp; Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream, Cautiously he greeted, "You know, it's a much better experience waking up to you in bed with me rather than finding you in the kitchen eating _my_ Cherry Garcia."

"I didn't want to wake you. And I finished my chocolate," Addie muttered, not looking up from the container.

"Whoa. You're already on your second pint of ice cream and it's only ten," Damon observed dramatically as he took the spoon from her and scooped out a bite. "You know, if you don't slow down you're gonna be on your sixth by noon and that is five too many above the running limit." She didn't respond. Gently, Damon took the melting treat from her, set it on the counter and wrapped her arms around his neck as he stood between her legs. Addie continued to stare at where the container had been. He frowned as he tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. "You wanna tell me why you're eating Cherry Garcia when you detest all things cherry?"

"I finished my chocolate," she repeated.

Damon studied her, truly baffled as to what was wrong. He hadn't seen her since Tuesday as he didn't want to interfere with her studying for finals and the previous night had been the last girl's night before Bonnie left for the summer. Her stress was over. Could Bonnie's leaving have her that upset? Her pulled her into a hug and she buried her face where his neck and shoulder met. Something was obviously wrong but he had come to learn that Addie reacted better when she told him in her own time as opposed to him pressing her for information.

After almost ten minutes Damon could barely make out Addie's mumbled, "I read Elena's diary for the first time since you had us move in."

"Mhm," he encouraged, rubbing her back. He should have known it had something to do with Elena.

"I wanna feel guilty and bad about her losing Stefan but that's pretty hard to do when her diary screams of her pining for you," she muttered, holding him tighter afraid he might run to her sister.

"'I thought she was over that...me...whatever. She seems happy for us," Damon noted, wondering if Addie's jealousy had caused her to misinterpret her sister's writings.

Addie laughed humorlessly, "She's happy that you're unavailable because it makes her choice easier.

Damon bit back a groan. He really couldn't see how Katherine had fun putting him and Stefan against each other. At one point he would have appreciated Elena's feelings but that had passed. "Even if you and I weren't together she wouldn't have a choice. I'm not interested in her anymore."

There was a list of people, including Elena, that would or had suggested otherwise but Addie didn't want to fight with him about whether he did or did not have feelings for Elena. "That's not the important part. She blames me for Klaus' taking Stefan and thinks you should blame me too."

"What is it with you two and wanting to blame the other for everything?" Damon asked sharply, pulling away. Addie raised her eyebrows at him in a challenge. If she got angry with him, that would be her problem and she'd get over. He carried on with his voice slowly becoming louder, "For someone who speaks so much of logic and wants to make sense of everything, you completely ignore that when it comes to blaming Elena for everyone dying. Your parents? Car _accident_. Jenna? Klaus. John? Saving his daughter. I get how you want to blame her and I see how it can make sense to but, Addie, you need to grow up. See, _this_ is why I won't sleep with you. Most of the time you act far older than you actually are but then you say or do something that reminds me you're a kid."

They stared at each other for a moment. Damon could feel his heart slamming against his chest; he didn't recall ever going off on Addie since they had been together. He definitely never yelled at her before. Ignoring Damon's comment seemed a more appealing option than fighting with him about it. Instead she focused on his main argument, asking, "Since you're the new expert in logic riddle me this: did Elena lose her boyfriend so I could keep mine?"

"Which of you came up with that?" he questioned dejectedly, running his hands up and down her jean clad outer thighs. Once again Addie had left him in surprise; though, she had always seemed to prefer fighting over things that didn't really matter. They probably wouldn't still be together if she argued with him over the important aspects of his personality, rash actions or their relationship.

"Which one of us thinks the world revolves around them?"

"Elena doesn't - " Damon cut himself off due to the cold glare he received. Trying to convince her to be on better terms with Elena was futile. One day, perhaps, but she needed to let go of her anger first. It had taken him facing death to let go of his anger with Stefan; hopefully Addie was more sensible than he was. Damon refocused on her original question as he studied her. The odd behavior, the wringing of her hands, and the refusal to meet his gaze all suggested one thing. Gently he took her face in his hands and stared at her until she reluctantly met his gaze. "I'm only going to tell you this once because any idea besides the truth is ridiculous. What Stefan did had nothing to do with Elena or you. Stefan gave up his freedom so that I could live. He didn't leave his girlfriend so I could be with mine; that's just an unfortunate side effect. Addie, Elena's hurting from losing Stefan. You live with her; it's easier for her to blame losing Stefan on you than blaming the one responsible: Klaus. She can't do anything to Klaus but she _can_ hurt you. But, Ads, you're not guilty of anything."

"But Stefan traded himself for the cure to your werewolf bite which you never…,"Addie trailed off, remembering why he had really went after Caroline and Tyler; to get _Elena_ to forgive him for feeding her his blood.

Damon went to kiss her, but he turned her head and he got her cheek. "Jealousy isn't attractive on you."

Addie was quick to retort, "You sure thought it was when it was over Katherine."

"You were being possessive then. Now, you're being jealous. Addie, I understand the insecurity you're feeling; I felt it when Katherine toyed with Stefan and me. I've already explained the way I feel about Elena and you _know_ it doesn't compare to how I feel about you. I'm not going to constantly defend myself. Can you accept that while I love you and I'm in love with you, a tiny part of me will always care about Elena?" he demanded. He wasn't going to deal with Addie doubting his feelings. It was a small step from doubting him to accusing him of cheating and he would never do that to her.

"Do I have a choice?"

"That depends. If you can't accept it then we can't be together. However, I don't want you to just say you're ok with it and not mean it because you want to stay together." Addie didn't respond after several moments. Suddenly he asked, "Did you write that thank you letter and send in the release form to London?"

"Yeah," Addie admitted quietly. "I don't want to leave my family and you behind with everything that's going on but I'd be a fool not to take this opportunity."

Damon nodded understandingly. Cupping her cheek he assured, "You're making the right choice. It's a chance of a lifetime. I hate to point this out but I know you're going to notice anyways and we need to be on the same page. You will be gone for half of the summer. Stefan is gone until further notice. Bonnie's with her family. And Alaric is half out of his mind with grief. I am the only option when it comes to someone watching out for Jeremy and Elena. Addie, I'm gonna watch them just as close as I would watch you because I know it would kill you if something happened to them. Now understand the close proximity your sister and I will be in."

Addie raised her eyebrows at him in surprise. "You think I'm going to think you're cheating on me?"

"Can you blame me? You know a small part of me will always have feelings for her, We both know my reputation. And if Elena really does have feelings for me… You can see how easy it would be to assume that I'm cheating on you," he explained disappointingly.

Addie scoffed, "You know that line that you always cross and I always forgive you for? Cheating on me is too far across the line for me to ever forgive you. I _do_ have an ounce of self-respect."

"I would never cheat on you," Damon insisted urgently. "I'm just afraid that-"

With a soft, "Shhh," she placed a finger against Damon's lips. When she was certain he wasn't going to talk, Addie buried her hand in the back of Damon's soft, raven hair and pulled him in for a kiss. His lips were soft and he tasted like toothpaste. When his cool hands nudged up her shirt to settle on her waist Addie shivered and felt her heartbeat quicken, His grip tighten when she caught his bottom lip between her teeth. There was a rumble in his chest as she bit gently at it. Satisfied, Addie took her hands off him and pulled away. Damon followed her, trying to continue the kiss. Teasingly she let her lips brush his in a near kiss before moving out of his reach.

"Tease," he muttered.

"That was not teasing," she laughed. "I know you're not going to cheat on me, especially with my sister. A small part of you feels for her but I know you care about me so much more. I know your reputation and it might have made me worry at first but I trust you. You hate seeing me upset. You'd hate yourself if you caused my pain. What I'm afraid of is my sister trying to make a move on you. She hurts me and gets you; two birds with one stone. _But_ that isn't going to happen."

Damon sighed, resting his forehead on her shoulder, "You seem so certain and confident in me."

"Mhm," she hummed in agreement, playing with her hair. "Should I not be?"

"It's going to be really lonely without you. I already miss you living here. I miss falling asleep with you in my arms. I miss seeing your face the moment I wake. I miss hearing about your day over dinner. I miss reading with you while you do your homework. I miss _you_. At least I get to see you but in just over a week it's going to be, like, eight weeks before I see you again. That's gonna be pure agony," he muttered. "I… at one point I never would spend all that time alone but now I'm willing to wait for you. I know how you make me feel and I know that I don't want to lose you. Bearing the loneliness is entirely worth the happiness I'll experience when you return. I just don't get how you have such faith in me. Or how you always understand me."

"You know why," Addie whispered.

"I know _why_ but I don't understand how you got to that place."

Addie laughed slightly, "Neither do I but I know how you make me feel so the why doesn't matter."

Damon gave a whiny groan,"Ugh! What am I going to do without you?"

"Don't worry; I'm sure my sister will stroke your ego."

* * *

May 18th,

The rise and fall of Damon's chest with each breath was mesmerizing. She'd memorize the image. Careful not to wake him, Addie softly lay her hand over his heart and felt the muscle pulsate beneath her hand in a steady rhythm. A rough guess put his pulse at almost 100 beats per minute. She'd memorize that and the way his heartbeat felt under her hand. Her eyes moved up to his face, taking in his strong jawline and angular features. She'd memorize them too. She'd memorize the slight pout of his bottom lip.

"You're staring," Damon muttered, his voice rough from sleep. He turned towards his nightstand and through one partially open eye looked at the clock. He groaned; he loved Addie but he did not care for her sleeping issues. "You're staring at me at three in the morning."

"Sorry," Addie whispered as she curled against and rested her head on his chest. Damon's hand stroked her hair. "Didn't mean to wake you."

He grunted in acknowledgement. He tried to go back to sleep but her finger tracking the waistband of his boxers was distracting. "Addison," he uttered sternly, effectively making her stop. Damon tried again to sleep but each time he was on the precipice her hand would move from his stomach to under her cheek to his waist. It was obvious that she was restless and wouldn't be sleeping any time soon. Knowing he would regret it Damon asked, "Why are you awake at three in the morning?"

Simply Addie answered, "It's eight in the morning. In London, at least."

"We are not in London. We are in Virginia where it is three. Switch time zones when you get to London. Go back to sleep."

"I can't. I'm trying to get my sleep schedule to fit with London hours so I don't have jet lag."

Damon groaned; of course his girlfriend would be anally obsessed with order. Addie wouldn't deal with jet lag like a normal person. No, she'd come up with some plan to fight it so her days and nights weren't out of sync because that would border on chaos. "Alright," he yawned in defeat. "You win. I'm up."

"Don't be ridiculous. Sleep," she urged.

"I can't do that with you staring at me or moving every two minutes."

"I'll go downstairs," Addie offered, moving to roll away from him.

Half asleep still, Damon's reflexes were slightly slowed but he still managed to catch her around the waist and turned so her back was flush with his chest. His lips twitched upwards as he caught a whiff of her cucumber melon shampoo as he laid his head closer to hers. "Nuh-uh. You're not going anywhere."

Despite scooting closer to him as he spooned her Addie protested, "You need sleep. I don't want you falling asleep driving me to the airport."

"I'll be fine," he asserted, moving her hair out of her face and off her neck. Damon placed a gentle kiss just behind her ear and smirked at the slight tremble that ran through her. "I'll have plenty of time to sleep when you're gone. What I won't be able to do is kiss you."

"How interesting," Addie gasped in mock awe. "I was not aware that I was gonna have to go forever without kissing my boyfriend. I should totally take advantage of the time I have now. But," Addie smirked, pulling her shoulder up to her ear, blocking Damon from pressing more teasing kisses, "it _is_ three in the morning and good girlfriend would insist that her boyfriend sleep."

Damon chuckled, "You realize we are both only good partners in the most dysfunctional sense? Thus, you being a good girlfriend would mean letting me kiss you."

"My God," she muttered, twisting on to her back and studying the wicked grin he gave her, "I just realized what it must be like for you half the time I talk. That made absolutely no sense. One thought had no logical connection to the other. It's like you forgot to say the majority of the conversation."

"Very annoying, isn't it?" Damon grinned, propping himself up on an elbow to look down at her.

She shook her head. "Not at all. It's rather endearing," Addie answered in a sweet, innocent voice. It was only because he knew her that Damon could detect the sarcasm.

His hand cupped the side of her face as his thumb swept over her cheek. The arrogant grinned had softened to a small smile of adoration. "It is endearing," he admitted sincerely. "It can be annoying, just like every other aspect of you, and drive me ten types of crazy but at the end of the day it's all endearing. It's what makes you my Ads. I wouldn't have you any other way."

"Do you know that you frustrate the hell out of me?" she asked lightly. Her hand slipped behind his neck and Addie gently pulled him closer.

"We both know that you'd hate me if I didn't bother you so much," Damon whispered. He kissed her cheek. Her forehead. Her eyelids. The corner of her mouth.

"We are so wrong."

"Mhm," he agreed, softly brushing his lips against hers. His mouth moved against hers as he murmured, "Neither one of us could function in a normal relationship. We are perfectly broken. We are so wrong, it's right."

Addie tilted her head, pressing her lips firmer against hie. Damon responded instantly, trying to convey everything he felt. It was a slow, lazy kiss. There was no rush to finish, to face the majority of the summer apart.

After several minutes Damon broke off the kiss with a whiny moan, resting his forehead against hers.

"What?" Addie whispered, his five o'clock shadow tickling at her palm.

Petulantly he decided, "I don't want you to go."

She scoffed at this in surprise. "You're the one who pushed me to do this. You practically packed my bags."

"I changed my mind. I want you to stay home and I can come and see you whenever I want."

_Home._ Part of the reason Addie had decided to go was because of how bad the tension was at her house. It was a matter of time before her and Elena got into a fight as both were so angry. And Jeremy, who usually would have intervened to mediate, seemed to be on another planet. He wasn't doing drugs like after their parent's death but something was up with him. There was also the mess that was her history teacher sleeping on the couch. Her house felt more like a war zone than home. The only place that felt right was when she was with Damon, and that wasn't nearly enough due to how focused he'd been on tracking Stefan.

Addie pushed at Damon's shoulder until he was lying back on his side. Immediately his arm curled around her waist and his hand slipped under his shirt she wore. Damon wanted to move, to pull her closer, to kiss her, but the way Addie chewed at her lip told him something was wrong. He tried to figure out where he had screwed up but he couldn't find the moment. Giving up he inquired, "What's wrong?" She pushed at his shoulder again, guiding him to his back. "Ads?" Addie leaned over Damon and caught his lips. As much as he wanted to let her deepen the kiss, to feel her hand running across his chest, he couldn't let it happen. Cradling her face in his hands he gently pulled her mouth from his as he caressed her cheek. He repeated more insistently, "What's wrong?"

Confused, Addie stared at him blankly for a minute. What _was _wrong? "Home," she muttered. "Home doesn't feel like _home_ anymore. It's just a house with four dysfunctional people. The love, the warmth, the desire to be there, missing home? None of that is there anymore. But you, when I'm with you I feel _everything_ I used to feel at home. I feel safe and warm and comfortable and special. I never felt _special_ at home; Elena was the special one at home. And with you I have a sense of peace or something; I don't know. I just know I feel less anxious. _With you_ feels like home should."

Damon leaned in quickly and firmly kissed her. The way her words had affected him was more than he could put into words. It was awful that she didn't have that sense of home with her family anymore but he couldn't help the way his heart raced knowing she felt it with him. To Damon, home was where a person is most comfortable, where someone ran to when everything else was wrong. He needed to be that for Addie if he had any real hope of her, of them making it through their fifteen year deal together.

When Addie went to part Damon's lips with hers he needed no encouragement. His hands fell from her face to her shoulders and down her back. Addie shivered at feeling his fingers work their way under the shirt. Though his touch was cool, he left a tingling, burning path as the tips of his fingers ghosted up her spine. Curling his fingers over a shoulder and grabbing her by the waist Damon made to switch position but Addie pushed firmly at the center of his chest. Fine; he could take a hint but Addie was mistaken if she thought he'd hand her control that easily. Damon asserted his intent of control by biting at her lower lip until she shuddered, nipping at the corner of her mouth.

Addie broke away from him smirking. She sat up and slung her leg over his waist. Damon eyed her warily as she seemed to consider something; Addie always seemed to see how far she could push him when she did that. Seeming to have decided she settled back on his upper thighs and grinned down at him. He watched as she took a finger and lightly scraped a line down the center of his chest. His abs tensed as she pressed harder as her finger ran through the dark dusting of hair that began at his navel.

"Addison," he warned as her finger dipped under the hem of his boxers. The crack in his voice must have dulled the effects of what he said as she simply looked at him innocently.

"Something wrong?" she asked lightly, leaving a path of fire as her warm mouth kissed lightly along his jaw. He didn't resist when she tilt and turned his head. Damon tensed at the jolt of lighting he felt travel through every bit of his body when she nipped at his earlobe. He felt himself twitch in excitement. His hands ran up and down her back, holding her against him as he exhaled sharply when she began to kiss along his neck. A groan ripped through him when she bit just below his ear.

Then he realized what was wrong, what Addie had been deciding about. He had always made sure that she was situated above his hips. Addie was definitely not above his hips and that was quickly becoming a problem. Damon desperately tried to focus on anything but the waves of pleasure that her mouth was generating. His voice was ragged and strangled as he growled, "You… are so beyond pushing the limit, Addison May."

"I don't know why you think saying my full name is necessary for me to listen to you," Addie noted thoughtfully. She shifted lower to kiss at his collarbone. "I'm not breaking any of your sex-proof rules," she taunted.

Damon forced himself to think strictly of his breathing. They both knew the only reason she wasn't rubbing against him was because of luck. "Come on, Ads," he tried to reason, "don't…" Don't what? Keep up the delicious torment on his neck? Stop playing with his hair? Quit running her hand teasingly over his chest?

"Don't what?" challenged Addie.

Damon moaned into kiss as she tugged gently at his hair. Don't what? That was a very excellent question. What point had he even been trying to make? Something about control? It had to have been about a power struggle; it almost always was. He knew he'd been upset. He groaned when she bit at his neck again, more lighting raced through his body. It was most definitely about control; Addie had far too much of it if he couldn't think straight. Holding her head so she wouldn't get hurt, Damon quickly flipped, pinning Addie on her back.

"Damn it, Damon!" she cried swatting at his chest. "That's not fair!"

Shifting his hips Damon snorted humorlessly. He remembered why he was upset. "_You_ were hardly playing fair," he countered, raising a disapproving eyebrow.

Addie rolled her eyes. "Did I break a rule? 're just upset that you lost control."

"I didn't _lose control_. You turn the key in the ignition and the engine's gonna start. Shifting from parked to drive would be losing control."

"Eww," Addie said sourly, as she pushed at Damon away. "I seriously cannot believe you compared sex to driving a car… in the middle of making out. Really, I can no longer see how I ever found you attractive. I am now convinced that the only way you gained your Playboy reputation is through compulsion."

He laughed, rolling onto his back, "I think you're being a little dramatic. And, for the record, I never compelled anyone into sex."

"Then everyone you have ever slept with must have been functioning on a single brain cell."

"Mmm… I admit that's true for the vast majority," he conceded. "Some had two brain cells. Although, in my defense, I've never had to stop the lead-up to sex. And nobody has ever challenged me to an exchange of wit while most of my blood was not flowing to my brain. So… yeah," he finished lamely, shrugging his shoulders.

Turning to face Damon, Addie gave him a sympathetic look and patted his cheek. "So, you get a free pass on that awful comparison?"

Damon flashed her one of his more charming, lopsided smiles. "We could do that. We can entirely forget that I said anything."

Addie shook her head and sighed heavily, "You know, I don't think that's possible. I think this moment is going to come up in conversation again and again."

"You know, I never would have said anything if you started off playing fair. You may not have broken any rules but you're guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct," he quipped defensively.

"Ooo! Technicality," Addie winced.

Damon smirked. "Technicality."

"God, why is it attractive that I can't beat your argument?"

"Because, occasionally, mostly when you're wrong, you've met your intellectual match," he suggested cockily.

"There can be no possible explanation as to why I find your arrogance attractive."

"Confidence is sexy."

Addie shook her head again an tsked. "You're not winning with that. You go right past confidence and go directly to arrogance. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200."

"Ok. I don't care _why_; the important thing is you find me attractive," Damon declared. When Addie gave him a small smile he leaned in for a gentle brushing of lips.

"I'm gonna miss you," Addie admitted.

He nodded, "I know. I don't want you to miss me too much, though."

"What do you mean?"

Damon hesitated; he knew how delicately he had to phrase what he wanted to say. To get an idea of what level of upset he was going to face he asked, "How rational are you feeling? On a scale of one to ten with one being 'not at all' how willing are you to listen to reason?"

"Um... I'm feeling pretty uneasy with your whole line of questioning which is kinda bringing me down to a seven."

"Well I need you at a ten."

"The fact that you require that already tells me that whatever you have to say is very irrational," she observed, trying to keep her tone light and conversational.

He cocked his head in acknowledgement. Damon wasn't entirely convinced his idea was rational but it was the right thing to do. He admitted, "It sounds that way at first but promise me you'll hear everything I have to say before you jump to conclusions."

Addie inhaled slowly. Whatever he was going to say was going to test her patience, undoubtedly. "I promise."

"I think we should breakup." After realizing how that sounded he added, "Just for while you're gone. I want you back after that. Of course, I want you now and while you're gone, too. Ok, 'breakup' isn't what I mean."

"What do you mean, Damon?" Addie asked sharply. First he strongly encouraged her into a relationship with him and now he wanted to end it?

Damon snorted humorlessly as he ran through his hair, "How do I still get so… flustered around you?"

Addie's lips purse. "Perhaps it's because you're proposing we breakup."

"That's not the right term. I just… You're young, Addie. Too young to be shackled to a fifteen year relationship, assuming neither one of us kills the other. You can't know if I'm what you want, not for sure. I'm the first guy you've been with. You have no idea of your other options. I know we say that we work because we argue but what if that's not what's best? What if you were with someone you didn't bicker with all the time? You can't know that you wouldn't like that better than being with me because you haven't experienced. I think you should take the summer and explore your options," Damon clarified, wincing at his own words. It actually made his chest hurt to think of Addie with anyone but him.

"You _want_ me to cheat on you?" Addie scoffed in disbelief. "You've lost your mind."

"I probably have," he agreed. "That doesn't mean I'm wrong though. You're spending your summer in a foreign country. That's suppose to mean a summer romance, probably with a guy who has a cheesy accent and drinks tea instead of coffee. I hate that idea," he laughed.

"Why are you even bringing it up then? I don't wan-"

"You don't know what you want," Damon interrupted sharply as he moved to sit against the headboard. "You _think_ I'm what you want but you don't know for sure. I know what I want; I've experienced something else many times to know I don't want it. You don't know anything else. I really wish I could keep you in the dark from all your other options but it's not right. Honestly, here I would probably compel away any guy who showed interest in you. I'm just that selfish. _I_ want to be the guy that makes you smile, wipes your tears, and struggles to keep up with your random thoughts and insane logic."

Addie sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She was starting to see what he was getting at and she didn't like it. "You are that guy," she whispered.

"I know. What if there is someone who can do all that better than I can?"

"And I'm gonna find him in London over half the summer? Do you hear how crazy you sound?"

Damon nodded, "Yep. I'm telling the girl I love to go and be with someone else. I want her to go abroad and have fun and experience life without the burden of having a boyfriend."

"You're not-"

"Addie, just think about it. What's the harm? We're going to be 3,000 miles from each other, anyways.

Addie shook her head insistently. "No. Is that what this is to you? Something physical?"

He laughed, "You're kidding, right? I've been fighting with you to keep this from being something physical. My point is that you should get to experience being with other guys. I don't think I could watch that, is the perfect opportunity to experience that without me wanting to kill any guy who so much as looks at you."

She took his face in her hands and looked him in the eye. He was talking nonsense and he needed to understand her point of view. Slowly Addie enunciated, "Right now I have no interest in being with other guys. Damon, I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to a relationship with you. I know there isn't going to be any summer romances because no guy is even going to have time to catch my attention. You know how long it took me to decide that I liked you. I don't make rash decisions in my love life; everything is scrutinized and analyzed from every angle. I made my choice to be with you after a lot of thought. I'm not going back on that decision just because we won't see each other for a few weeks. I'm sure you think what you're doing is in my best interest but it's not. While you imagine me off having torrid love affairs what happens to you?"

"I wait for you to come home and if you still want me, that's great. If you discover that what we have isn't what you want then that's ok, too. I just want you to be happy. Look, I get if you don't want to stop or pause what's between us but what harm is there if something does happen with someone else while you're gone I'm not going to hold it against you?" suggested Damon.

"First of all, the harm is whatever you imagination spits out involving me and another guy. That is damaging. Second of all, how are we in a relationship when you don't care if I sleep with half of Europe?" Addie retorted in frustration.

Damon shrugged then thought, "It's an open relationship. A _temporarily _open relationship. I have absolutely no intention of sharing you when you get back. This is a time for you to see what other fish are in the sea. What if you want an angel fish instead of the goldfish you won at the carnival?"

"God, now you're comparing people to fish," Addie muttered. Processing everything Damon was saying started up a mild headache. If she wasn't concerned about what _he_ would do, she'd simply agree just to end the topic. "I don't want an open relationship ever. You might be selfless enough to want me to go out and have these experiences but I'm selfish. Three thousand miles apart or not, I don't want you with somebody else."

Perplexed, Damon studied her critically. "You think I'm going to be with someone else while you're gone?" Addie's lips pressed into a thin, hard line. That was a yes. "Addie, I don't want anyone else, physically or emotionally. I know how lucky I am. I'm trying my best to not screw things up with you. Me cheating on you would be equivalent to an earthquake so intense and destructive that it can't be measure on the Richter scale."

"Ok. Here's my problem: how would me being with someone else while I'm gone be permissible but if you do it, it's cheating?" Addie pointed out. Perhaps she could logically end this ridiculous debate.

Damon was quick to answer, "Because I'm ok with you being with someone else while you're gone. I know that you would not be ok with me doing that; if it's something that upsets you it's cheating."

"Now how is that possibly fair to you?"

"It doesn't matter if it's fair. This summer isn't about _me_ it's about you exploring who you are and growing up. You should be able to do that without being tied to a guy. If something happens between you and someone else, that's fine. I would rather that happen when you're an ocean away and I don't have to witness it. If it happened here, then it would be cheating."

Addie scoffed, "You're logic is starting to make as much sense as mine does, meaning it's only rational in your head. Damon, nothing is going to happen for many reasons, one of which is that I would feel like I'm cheating on you. Can we please just settle this? We can go around in circles forever; that's not how I want to spend my last day with you."

"Alright," Damon conceded in defeat. "What do you want, Addie?" It was always what she wanted.

"Ok, I'll accept your 'if something happens' and you not holding it against me as long as you recognize that I'm going into this with the intent of nothing happening," she purposed.

"I can't convince you to go into this with an open mind of possibilities?"

Addie shook her head. "I can lie and say that I will. What I'm willing to compromise is that I won't shut down an opportunity for something but I will not actively seek anything out,"

"Fine," he accepted in resignation. It was a miracle that he had gotten her past completely rejecting his idea to accepting that she would explore something new if given the chance. There was no point in trying to push her to seek out new experiences.

"However, I will only do this if I know something isn't happening between you and someone else. It's not fair but I'm not exactly a fan of going in and forgetting that I have a boyfriend back home," Addie stipulated.

"Of course," Damon agreed quickly. It was a no brainer that he wasn't going to do anything that would hurt her like that.

"Ok, quick recap so we both understand what's going on. You will stay here and not entertain the idea of other relationships. I will go to London without feeling obligated to you if something arises with someone else; however, I will not actively seek out something," condensed Addie, explaining the compromise in the most basic way she could.

He nodded. It wasn't what he really wanted for her but it was better than her feeling tethered to him. "Correct."

* * *

"So, are we going to do an epic, Oscar worthy airport goodbye?" Damon asked as they turned from the ticketing counter where Addie checked in her suitcase.

"You have to be kidding," Addie decided as she ran her hand through her hair anxiously. Where on earth was the security checkpoint?

He caught her hand in his and steered her towards the left when she started to go right. Damon had used Dulles International Airport in D.C. enough times to have a general idea about the layout. Addie had insisted on making the four and a half hour drive so that she could get a direct flight and avoid a layover. He would have chosen the layover as being a lesser evil. She wasn't the one who would drive nine hours just to ship his girlfriend off for a greater part of the summer.

"I'm quite serious. Wouldn't be doing the proper boyfriend thing if I didn't. I was going to just do it but you're pretty bad with goodbyes. I figured the safest but was to ask," Damon admitted.

Bitterly Addie muttered, "That's because I never get to say goodbye. People just go off and never come back."

Damon squeezed her hand reassuringly. The death of John and Jenna was affecting her more than she would let on. "So, no epic sendoff?" he confirmed as he pulled her off to the wall directly across from security.

"I will find some wood and stake you if you do anything to embarrass me in the middle of a crowded airport," she threatened as she felt her anxiety increase.

"Aww!" Damon gushed. "I love you, too!"

Addie shifted uncomfortably; she still wasn't exactly sure how to react when he said that. She ran her hand through her hair again as she eyed the security line. "I don't think I want to go," she said quietly, clutching harder at Damon's hand.

"You're just anxious," he comforted her. His own anxiety undoubtedly compared to hers. She was too young to go off to a summer program alone in London. Who knew what kind of supervision she'd have? "Everything's going to be fine."

"You don't know that," Addie snapped back as she began to feel her heart slamming against her chance. She knew the anxiety was generating a false sensation. She had to calm down before she went into a panic attack. "What if I get hurt? What if I get sick?"

"That's why there are doctors and hospitals and the program requires you to have international insurance. It's a sophisticated city; you're not going to the Sahara desert."

Addie frowned at this. "If I was in the Sahara I would be alone. I'm going to be among 8.6 million people. People notice when someone goes missing in Mystic Falls within a day. How long is it going to take for someone to figure out if I've been kidnapped?"

"You have a roommate who I'm sure will find it suspicious if you don't show up after a night or two without notice. And I'm sure the program takes some kind of attendance. Just be smart, don't go wandering the city alone, make sure you're always in a group if you go out at night, ectera ectera."

"What if I get lost? Did I show you the tube map? That thing is confusing!"

Damon grabbed her gently by both shoulders and turned her to face him. Staring at the security line seemed to be making things worse. He was worried about all the things she was but he needed to be the one that kept their wits about them. His voice was firm, authoritative, "Addie, you can do this. You get lost and you take a taxi to where you need to go or you use Google Maps or that Citymapper app that tells you when the tube comes and everything." She opened her mouth but Damon shook his head. "No, listen to me. We talked about all of this. What's the first thing you're going to do after you land?"

"Um, get a sim card and make sure that whatever phone plan I choose has a lot of data so I can use the GPS if I get lost," Addie recalled, slowly feeling a little more relaxed as she elaborated.

"Right. We already looked at the airport map so you know where they sell them. Then you go and meet up with everyone else in terminal three. You land in terminal five so you take the train to three. I know you can follow the signs but if you need help there's a worker there to assist you about every ten feet. Don't be afraid to ask for help. When you meet up with the group they've got you from there. I know know you're going to be fine. You can do this. Remember that you can call me if you need anything at all and if you just want to. Worst case scenario is you are completely miserable and we book you a flight back home. That's not going to happen, though. You'll do great," Damon insisted. He wasn't certain if he was saying everything for her benefit or to try and convince himself.

Addie nodded and whispered, "Ok." Damon was right; everything would be fine, she just had to stay sharp.

Feeling slightly better about sending her off Damon reached for his wallet and pulled out the new debit card. Addie's eyeroll already told him she wanted to fight him on taking it. He tried, "Please, just take it."

"Damon, I have-"

"I know you've got way more than you'll need but I'll feel better knowing you have this," he interrupted as he made to put the card in her pocket. Her crossed arms were a clear sign of her disapproval. "Look, God forbid something awful happens or an emergency comes up but if it does you'll be covered for sure. Oh, and speaking from experience, a $150,000 watch at Harrods does count as an emergency and is a totally legitimate reason to use the card," Damon smirked.

"Wha - why - how can a _watch_ be $150,000?" Addie stumbled through in disbelief. Damon was more than a little brand obsessed but she never even thought he would buy something so frivolous for so much.

"It was a limited edition Rolex studded with diamonds."

Addie shook her head, still struggling to understand. It was a well known fact that all of the Founding Families were more than comfortably rich. From her parents and John's wills she calculated the Gilbert net worth at almost $5 million. It was that money that left her and her siblings monthly "allowances" of far more than they would ever need. But to drop that kind of money on a watch? She never really stopped and considered how wealthy Damon was. "How come I've never seen this watch?"

Damon rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I kinda lost it." Addie didn't need to know that he left it behind at some girl's place.

"Shocker," she muttered sarcastically. Her eyes wandered back over to the security line.

"You want me to compel my way to the gate with you?" he offered.

"No," she answered softly, her attention still on security, "that will just make saying goodbye harder."

"When do we do that?"

Addie turned back to him and gave him a small, sad smile. She shifted her backpack around so she could open it. After a minute of shifting through headphones, her laptop, and cables. she pulled out a small box wrapped in shiny red paper. Sheepishly she passed it to Damon, who stared at it in confusion. "It's called a birthday present," she tried to joke but her blush and nerves dulled the effect. They never actually exchanged gifts. "You're supposed to open it."

Damon felt the corners of his lips twitch upwards. The last birthday he celebrated was when he turned 23 a few months before he became a vampire. Every year was another year full of memories and experiences but he never saw reason to celebrate aging when he never would. "How'd you know it's my birthday?"

"You told me the date. I asked Stefan for the month. I feel pretty bad; leaving you for half of the summer doesn't make for the best birthday."

"You make it the best birthday," he said softly, pulling her into a hug. "I had honestly forgotten that it was today, Haven't exactly had cause to celebrate it in awhile. Thank you," he murmured, placing a kiss on her temple.

If she held on to him much longer she wasn't sure she'd let go. Addie pulled away reluctantly. "You haven't even opened it yet," she pointed out bashfully.

The box turned in his hand until he found where she had taped the paper together. Curious, he slowly peeled away the wrapping. What would Addie possibly give him? Damon shook his head in disbelief as he revealed the black box with embedded golden words _Santal Imperial_.

"I know it's not really a birthday present if it's something you already have but-"

"Where did you find it?" he wondered as he lifted the lid. It was the same frosted glass flask with a silver and grey stopper as the one he had at home.

"Yeahhhhh, you see your cologne doesn't have the name on the bottle or have a distinctive design. So I had to figure out what you wear by remembering what you smell like: ginger, cloves, and sandalwood. Luckily for me that isn't a very popular combination. You once mentioned that you haven't switched colognes in 150 years. That left me with one cologne that fit the profile. I have no idea where you find it but I finally found a little shop in Germany that sells it," Addie rambled nervously.

Damon nodded and mused, "It has become really rare. I can't believe you did that or figured it out."

Addie turned as red as the wrapping paper she took from him. "Well, I kinda, might have possibly knicked the little bit you had left at home. I couldn't exactly leave you without any." He tilted his head in confusion. "It...God, this sounds stupid."

"What?"

"You know I pilfered a couple of shirts for sleep. It's not the soft material that makes me like them. I like that they smell like you. So, I kinda took the cologne to keep them smelling like you," Addie rushed out in mumble.

Damon cupped her face with his free hand. Her eyes were that deep ocean blue that entranced him. "You're making it really hard for me to let you go."

Addie pushed herself up on her toes and gently brushed his lips in a light kiss. She gave him a forced grin and quipped back, "Don't worry; I'll be back before you know it. So, do me two favors. Don't die. And save Stefan before then. I don't think I can take the stress of anymore suicidally reckless plans."

"I'll try my best but no promises," Damon smirked.

"Seriously, Damon. Nothing stupid. I'd miss you too much."

"I promise I'll keep the danger to a minimum," he pouted like a chastised kid. He pulled her into another hug, holding her tight. "I'm gonna miss you, love." Damon made to kiss her but she placed a single finger over his lips before he could.

"Save that kiss. Save it for when I get back," whispered Addie. "Let's not do a goodbye, ok?"

Damon nodded and smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I told you you were bad at goodbyes."

"You're a riot, Damon," she said solemnly, turning away from him and to the security line. As much as she wanted to look back she couldn't let herself. She needed to focus on her future. Damon would be there when she returned; she could stare at him all she wanted then.

Her hands trembled as she held out her boarding pass and student ID. Her heart leap to her throat when the agent scrutinized the ID and then her. She felt like a mute bobble head when he asked if she was under 16. Some of the anxiety receded as he returned her items and waved her past. She picked up two bins to send through the x-ray scanner. In one she put her laptop and the other her bag and shoes. Paranoid about setting of the metal alarm she patted down her pockets, tossing her cell phone and, after inserting the card from Damon, her wallet into her carry-on bag. She went through the metal detector and put her shoes back on and laptop back in her bag. Walking away from security, she checked her boarding pass again. Gate B51 so that meant right? Yes, there was a sign indicating that she did need to go right. When Addie found the gate there were only fifty people or so. Finding a chair flanked by two empty one she sat down and pulled her cell phone out. Only forty minutes before her flight. She and Damon must have been talking for a lot longer than she thought. There was no point in dragging her laptop out for such a brief time so she decided to mess around with her phone. Text Jeremy she made it to the airport and her gate, catch up on pointless updates on Facebook, played Sudoku.

In her peripheral view Addie could make out someone dropping into the chair on her left. "I'm a bit of a nervous flyer," came a calm, English accent after a few minutes. Addie didn't respond. Her anxiety was already running wild, she didn't need to add fuel to the fire by making small talk with a stranger. Just him sitting near her made her want to move. Something about him just seemed _bad_. She couldn't ignore the man when he stuck his hand in between her face and cell.

"I don't believe I've ever properly introduced myself. Niklaus Mikaelson. Most people just call me Klaus. A few special people call me Nik. You can call me whatever you like, Addison."

* * *

**A/N: With this I close out _Invisible Control. _Thank you all so much for reading! If you are interested in how the story continues for Damon and Addie please check out _Hostage Control,_ the link to which can be found on my author's page. Scroll down - there are about 2000k words added to the epilogue.**

**Yes - I know how the school system works in the UK. In this universe classes are done by May 18th. Personally, I never had a test or paper due after the second semester. **

**Minor change that you will see from this story to the next that Addie will be starting at age 15 as opposed to 14 and will be going into her junior year. Her birthday (September 8th, 1995) is based off Jeremy's birthday (October 13, 1994) and Virginia law. That _legally _made them both freshman in 2009 (Season 1). Addie turned 14 and Jeremy turned 15 at the beginning of the school year. Now, at some point during his freshman year Jeremy gets a license, suggesting he must be 16. Then season three comes along with a new school year and suddenly he's a junior, further suggesting he is 16. I have spent many sleepless nights trying to figure out where Jeremy gets this magic year and the only explanation is that some writer didn't do their math correctly. (Unless they want to go into a whole explanation of a hardship license and he skipped a grade.)**


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